Dawn Blooms Under Cold Skies
by Petileo
Summary: Naruto has come a long way from his teenage days; taller, older and… well, only slightly wiser. But with hunters drawing blood and only a matter of time before the pitter-patter of tiny feet make their appearance, things won't be any easier. Sasunaru, Mpreg. Sequel to From Under the Star Filled Sky.
1. Gilded Dawn

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**A/N: I'm baaack! To confirm, this is the SEQUEL to _From under the Star filled Sky_. Much of the character development and plot went on in that story, so don't complain if something really doesnt make sense, because you haven't read the first. That said, feel free to ask questions, i'll try my best to answer them. Now, i hope you like this one, where the REAL action begins. And the MPREG, which i know most of you wanted. Its a main theme throughout the story, so if you don't like that sort of thing, leave now. Oh, and same for Yaoi. I've tried to explain it properly without making it too squirmy, and just ignore the biology words if you want. I try to dive right into the plot, so read, and enjoy!**

Warnings: Yaoi, sexual scenes, violence, swearing, Mpreg, boyxboy loving and smexing, and lots of other stuff that makes this rated M. If you dislike any of these please press the back button :P.

* * *

**Gilded Dawn**

The sun danced with an orange burning glow through the stuffy windows, fading slowly as it began to dip below the horizon. It caught floating dust in its beams, showing their little spiralling trails in the air.

There was a swish, and a blast of air sent them spinning, and a soft clank echoed in the apartment as a bowl was set down on the counter. Soft humming could be heard as a tap was turned on, the gushing of water nearly drowning out the lull of the television nearby.

Its screen was blaring bright colours, a ribbon of red scrolling across the bottom of the screen, as scenes flashed by one after another.

"...another thirteen people have been recovered, injured, from the wreckage of today's train bombings. While another five are still unaccounted for, leaving the death toll so far at a steady fourteen, with over fifty people undergoing treatment in hospital, when a train was derailed earlier today."

Images flashed in brightness that burned against the soft fading light of the room, ambulance crews helping limping, bloody figures from the wreckage, police cars, and a ruined series of carriages in a crumbling station, its contents spilled all over the tracks in a heap of dust and rubble.

"Investigations have confirmed the presence of explosives, and we are left to wonder once again the reasoning behind these terrorist attacks, which give neither warning nor reason. Police spokesmen today announced that the Shiburi incident seems to be completely unconnected to the others preceding it. There has been no sign, warning or message, and we, the public, are left to wonder in fear, of when these immoral terrorists will strike again."

The images changed once more, this time to those of a brightly lit studio, a blandly pretty woman with her equally bland voice neatening the papers on her faux desk.

"We now go to the scene...."

A huff and a sigh echoed in the apartment, and a hand ran through chocolate brown strands as equally brown eyes glanced towards the babbling television.

He walked over, and stared simply at the screen a few seconds before sighing and turning his head to stare out the far window, the sun in the middle of its disappearance for the night to come.

A forlorn sigh escaped him, and Iruka could only send out his thoughts to his faraway son.

'_Naruto, I hope you're alright...'_

Unheard to his ears, the television continued to flicker behind him.

* * *

A long way away, hidden deep in the thick forest of the sprawling countryside, which covered hills, mountains, lakes and rivers like a thick, sticky blanket, stood a ruined stone building.

Its heavy thick walls and compact shape made it appear to be almost a fortress, and despite its age, it appeared to have been recently renovated out of disrepair; new sturdy metal doors to replace rotten wooden ones, shiny hinges and the little snake-like wires that carried electricity which clung tightly to its sides.

It was cloistered away from the rest of the world by a turn in the mountain it was huddled within, where the high altitude gave the air a thick mist that would cling to the building long into the morning, and would settle by the earliest of evenings. There was only the most broken of dirt paths leading up to it, and in its remoteness, no one would ever think to look for it.

That's why it would have been perfect, if not for those that could literally sniff them out.

That particular night, nothing seemed much amiss, a passing glance would cause little to be alarmed.

Except for if one were to stop and listen so very closely. Then the vague sounds of a scuffle could be heard; unearthly noises muffled and twisted by the thick stones walls that were meant to keep the nightmares out, not in.

The noises became louder, accompanied by the hoarse shouts of men and the rending of metal, its screech cutting through both hard stone and night air with ease. Tiny bits of loose stone and mortar fell from the walls to daintily decorate the forest floor below as a rumble shook the building.

The shouts were closer then, as if the men were huddled right behind those steel doors, stark and shiny against the pale white stone, which still managed to cut out their voices. There was a short period of silence and then-

Another crash shook the very foundations, sending the tops of large stone blocks hurtling to the ground with fevered cracks. Part of the roof suddenly simply disappeared, leaving a gaping hole of fathomless black, before a short trail of smoke twirled out from its deep reaches; the lonely stream twisting with the cold mist that had formed during the night hours.

The gap would have allowed words to be distinguished from the gabble of voices, but by then, there were no words to be heard, only screaming, that pierced the shallow night air like knives.

The building began to rumble and shake once more, greater and greater as the unmistakeable scent of copper began to bloom up into the atmosphere, and with one last groan from the aged stone, the shiny new hinges finally bent, bursting the heavy steel door and sending it flying, huge, gnarled pieces of stone tumbling after it.

Without a moment to spare, a large, dark mass flew from the keep, and quick behind it another, it's shimmering golden coat burnished red by the roaring flames and embers that licked its heels, spilling out the gaping doorway like angry spirits.

The creature did not pause a moment, as the flames danced in the reflection of blood red eyes, and it flew right out into the night, through the trees and onwards, weaving through the trees like a ghost after its partner.

Neither shape looked back, or even showed a wince, as the old stone keep, now far behind, finally exploded into a flash of white fire and hurling rock.

None of its contents, including the dead, would ever be found.

* * *

The next morning, as dawn light gilded the cherry blossoms gold, a fox padded gently through the forest, the dappled light through the trees putting its golden fur in shadow. It twitched its black nose and continued to pick its way slowly through the mossy underbrush of the forest that stretched unbroken for miles. Far from anywhere, the only sounds were the early morning birds singing their chorus, which made crème tipped ears twitch and swivel, and the soft sound of crunching leaves under paw.

The fox wove through the thick trunked trees with ease, fleshy green leaves no hindrance as the canine made its way towards a slight clearing in the tree line. It was only small, a tiny copse, but the gnarled branches of the largest tree enclosing the space was distinctive enough to act as a landmark.

The fox paused right on the edge, letting its black nose sniff the air tentatively before deciding it was safe to enter, slinking its sinuous body into the sunlight.

The light made the golden fur shine brightly, illuminating the finest of long silky hairs from ear tip to tail end. A tail which, against all natural reason, seemed to shift and writhe all on its own in a plume of golden fur, making it almost appear at a corner glance to be more than one tail swishing peaceably.

The fox sniffed the air once more, and let out a slight whine from the back of its throat, and readily dropped its body to lay on the carpet of half dry leaves that gave a satisfying crunch under the strangely large creature's body.

The fox laid its head upon its front paws, lids lulling over glazed, deep blue eyes and there it stayed, unmoving for several minutes, only its large ears twitching occasionally.

As a pair of fluttering butterflies danced past, those ears perked, and slitted eyes opened to the full as a dark black shape began to emerge from the surrounding forest, silent as the grave.

The fox gave a jubilant yip, mysterious tail swishing back and forth just like a dog's as a sleek, monstrous cat slunk up to him.

Purrs and happy growls were exchanged as the two large creatures made a point of rubbing against one another, tails happily entwining momentarily, as much delicate sniffing went on, as if to assure the other of their well being.

It would have been quite the sight to see, if any mortal animal had stumbled upon it.

But the serene atmosphere was suddenly broken by a sound much like a gunshot, it pierced the air so shrilly. The two in the glade didn't seem much fazed as both their bodies convulsed and twisted, accompanied by the sound of painful cracks.

Fur rippled and receded, paws and claws shortened back into hands and feet, and thick sharp teeth returned to stubs.

Within a matter of moments, two men had appeared in the creatures place.

Naruto wasted no time, gleefully cupping his mate's face to pull those taunting pink lips to his. The kiss was languid and slow, tongues moving without a rush. Inwardly, Naruto was amazed at how after all these years, Sasuke's kisses still managed to light lava in his belly.

He would have been more than happy to heat things up, dipping nimble tan fingers below the Uchiha's waistband, but he was unfortunately pushed off, letting him fall ungracefully off of Sasuke's lap and onto the crunchy, leafy forest floor.

"Oi!" snapped Naruto with a frown, rubbing his sore behind with one hand.

"Hn," muttered Sasuke in reply, taking his own time to get to his feet, before lazily offering a hand to his glaring mate.

Naruto looked hot when he was mad.

"Che," spat the blond as he took the warm palm. Once he was standing, he used the same hand to brush leaves from his hair.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. _Later. _Sheesh, you'd think you'd be less frigid after what we did last night, but noooo. Uchiha Sasuke has to have an icicle for a dick."

Naruto sighed, as if greatly maligned, and watched with cool eyes as Sasuke snorted in response, but gave no other answer as he walked towards the large gnarled tree.

The Uchiha bent down, brushing some of the litter away to reveal a shallow hollow in the base of the tree trunk, where a somewhat dirty pack lay. Sasuke inspected it thoroughly to make sure everything was in place, flicked off the odd spider and then simply flung it over his shoulder. He ignored the waiting blond and simply walked right past him, meandering through the trees with ease. His lips quirked as he heard the strangled yell of indignation behind him.

"You coming, dobe?"

"Fucking teme, why do I even put up with you, huh?"

Sasuke, despite his head start, paused and waited patiently for the grumbling blond to catch up with him, smirking as he saw Naruto glare at him.

"Because you love me," he couldn't help but tease, and then swoop in for a quick kiss as he saw those plump lips burst into an irresistible pout.

Feeling the familiar warmth on his lips, Sasuke was just about to swipe his tongue in when he felt strong hands push at his chest, breaking the connection.

"_Later._"

Taunting, smoky blue eyes mocked him from barely an inch away, and Sasuke could do little except push himself away and stalk off in the direction of the lone, dirt track path that winded its way through these parts of the lonely mountains.

He grunted as he heard Naruto chuckle from behind him.

Spring was upon them once more; the flowers had sprung open in a beautiful show of colour, their silky petals catching raindrops and early morning dew like stars, the thick hanging curtains of moss doing much the same. There was the lulling tinkle of gushing streams from nearby and the very air felt fresh and clean.

Sasuke liked spring in the countryside; it was just so much...brighter, fresher than in the cities. In fact, the first time he'd experienced spring after their leave from Tokyo, he'd been secretly amazed by the abundance of flora and fauna. The fact that Naruto seemed to like spring enough to dash around, letting his shirt ride up to reveal tan skin, had nothing to do with it whatsoever. Really.

There was just something about the weather that was soothing, and could fill him with a source of contentment. It was more than pleasant, and hearing the chirpy voices of song birds was a nice contrast to what they'd just done the night before; where the smell of blood and fire clogged the senses.

Sasuke let his gaze stray to Naruto, who was walking beside him, but also just a little behind, taking his time to admire the scenery. Naruto liked plants. A lot in fact.

He was even humming a little, totally off key, and appeared oblivious to Sasuke's scrutiny. He took the time to run his dark eyes over the blonde's frame, checking for any injury he might be trying to hide. Once satisfied that Naruto was in just perfect health, Sasuke felt himself relax, shoulders releasing their hunch as he decided to indulge himself in the simple past time of Naruto-watching.

Sometimes, it was difficult to remember that it had been over eight years since he first met Naruto, that the naive teenager he had first got to know, had by now grown into a man; an adult. But whenever he looked at the blonde properly, he could definitely enjoy the results.

Now into his mid twenties, Naruto had lost some of the roundness to his face, leaving a much more sculpted jaw line. His eyes were less round as well, and he'd grown some- he was only a shy couple of inches shorter than Sasuke. And he had a nicely toned physique, Sasuke reminded himself, as he saw the shift of muscles in the blonde's arm as he walked.

The years had changed Sasuke as well; he'd gone through his last growth spurt, leaving him not the tallest man around, but a good height to go with his lithe build, which was one built more for speed and compact power than pure brute force.

To be honest, Naruto was the one who fit that sort of character better, the way he threw himself around.

The thought made his lips quirk again, and if he wasn't careful, Naruto would notice and then make some stupid show of the world coming to an end, or some other such nonsense.

"Aaaah!" called Naruto, with a yawn and a stretch as they finally trod onto the dirt path road which cut right through the forest; in places the trees seemed to be trying to reclaim it, and little weed-like plants clung to the edges like spectators.

This time as they set out on their long journey towards the coast, Naruto walked by his side.

"Maa, last night was tiring, what was the real point of blowing that place up? I mean, it was way too far away from well, uh, anywhere, to have been that important, right?"

Naruto had scrunched up his nose, and was rubbing his top lip with a tan finger. Even as a clear adult, the blond loved to act childish.

Sasuke sighed and hoisted the pack further on his shoulder in an attempt to get comfortable.

"The fact that it was so remote was the problem, usuratonkachi. If it'd been allowed to possibly grow, and left unattended, it could have become a real problem later. If one of the tenmakashi's retreats is gone, there is less places for them to hide, understand? With any luck, they won't discover what happened to this one for a while."

Naruto blinked, and stared blankly in what Sasuke could only hope was comprehension.

"Hmm," muttered the blond after a few moments, "I guess that makes sense, but still! We could have been doing something more important, ne, ne?"

Sasuke sighed once more at the excited tone, and shot Naruto a sideways glare. That troublesome blond of his did it on purpose just to annoy him, he knew it. He felt vindicated when the infuriating blond replied with a grin and a stuck out tongue.

Grumbling on the inside, Sasuke determinedly said nothing, and only looked ahead.

Naruto smiled at his sulking mate (not that Sasuke would ever admit to _sulking_) and followed beside him with a hop in his step. He was glad that they'd finished their latest mission; it had involved far too much stalking and being quiet for long periods of time. Sasuke could be such a stickler for taking things slowly. Naruto much preferred the action part, which did not include a several week hike up the more vertical side of a mountain, thank you very much.

He scowled in remembrance, and tucked his hands in the baggy pockets of his long, light cotton shirt, which he left partially open; it may only be spring, but it could get hot during the day, especially when travelling. That said Naruto did quite like the often long, treks through the forest that spanned much of the country, when they were flat anyway. After all, he'd grown up in a small village; Konoha had been nestled in the mountains, and he wouldn't lie and say he hadn't missed the seasons, and the trees, and the cool river water during summer...

It had been especially fun that first year that he and Sasuke had spent in the country. He'd been glad to see so much...green after all that steel and glass in the city, and watching Sasuke- not struggle exactly- but yeah, struggle to find his way around in the unfamiliar environment had been endlessly amusing. Naruto liked to think that without him, Sasuke would have died an unglorious death in a ditch somewhere- genius Uchiha didn't think of that, now did he?

Still, Sasuke had been pretty adaptable to the new lifestyle, and didn't complain about any of it; like sleeping on hard bumpy ground, bugs everywhere, and having to find food of the wild variety. In fact, soon Sasuke, with his innate quietness, was better at catching game than he was. Stupid Uchiha. Still, it had been fun, and living rough with Sasuke was hardly a chore- just the opposite really.

Sometimes, often during times like these, when things were quiet and content and the surroundings were so peaceful, it drew him into thinking, mostly of the past. It was nice to mull over things as he gently walked, Sasuke at his side.

He glanced speculatively at Sasuke and couldn't help the warm smile that tilted his mouth.

Fully matured, Sasuke cut a lean, handsome figure against the leafy background; his dark self a wonderful contrast with all that pale lily-white skin and deep as night black.

In many ways, he hadn't changed much from the first time Naruto saw him, though he was undoubtedly older, leaner and perhaps even more mysterious looking. The thought made him want to laugh; Sasuke was hardly mysterious, to him he was just a crabby Uchiha with perhaps a little too much pride, never mind the pretty face.

But Naruto loved him for it; after all, he was _his _crabby Uchiha with perhaps a little too much pride and a _very_ pretty face.

Naruto struggled to hide his laughter, and forced his head away so he wouldn't burst out into hysterics seeing Sasuke frown in his direction, presumably at his weird expression.

Naruto sighed quite happily to himself as he managed to calm down, and was brought back to his thoughts on the past.

How different he was back then! But then at the same time, so strikingly similar. Naruto couldn't help but wonder about his 'past self', the one who came to Tokyo so naive, so unknowing, of both the world, and himself. Even when he thought he knew more, in hindsight Naruto knew he was painfully ignorant of a lot of things. Like his perception of friends, of his relationship with Sasuke, with Iruka, about himself. Even after he'd found out he was a youkai, a demon, he still hadn't really known what it had meant for him, what he could do, how suddenly different from everyone else he was.

Full of the impatience and narrow vision of a teenager, everything had seemed so simple, one thing after another. And with Sasuke, everything had been filled with a crazy lust, pounding hearts, hitched breaths and terrible embarrassment where every little thing seemed like the biggest deal in the world, full of extremes of happiness and sadness and everything in between with a hasty passion. That was falling in love.

But, just because they were teenagers, didn't mean they couldn't find something good...

Naruto glanced towards Sasuke once again.

Falling in love, and being in love were very different things, he mused. Being in love with someone was a slow sort of thing, steady and something that achieved great depth over time, but never fading. It was a lot more secure and- and to Naruto, far more enjoyable to know this bond he had with Sasuke truly had the weight of grand true emotion behind it. It wasn't a flashy emotion, but it was there; something he just _knew _whenever he and Sasuke were together, whether they were touching or not, or looking at each other, or not.

The Sasuke he had fallen in love with was quite different from the Sasuke he was in love with now; but that was all right, as they'd both grown, but they'd grown together.

Though he'd often act childish, Naruto wasn't in such a rush as used to be, and Sasuke-well. It was a hard thing to say he was more humble- he could still be as bastardly as ever when he wanted to be, but he had changed like that in some way. As if, maybe, he was more aware of what was really precious to him, rather than what he thought should be...

Naruto rubbed his cheek idly, his head starting to hurt; Sasuke thrived on being an unnecessarily complex being, and though he could figure it out most of the time now, it still gave Naruto a headache.

But the fact of the matter was, they were very much in love with each other, and Naruto didn't need some paltry words or actions to know it. Their feelings had grown over the years to something steady and solid, an unbreakable bond that connected them always.

_It will always be __**Sasuke.**_

It made him chuckle to think of his younger self; so sure that those first feelings were what real love was; but how could he have known any better? Ignorant he might have been, but he'd managed to find his most precious person, so he couldn't have been completely hopeless.

And he was pretty sure that Sasuke felt the same about himself.

By this time they'd been walking a far while, and Naruto felt pretty damn serene with his life. Thinking about it had reminded him.

For even though their lives revolved around always moving, hiding, and morbidly enough, killing, it was arguably the best time of his life, all these years, just spent with Sasuke, his most precious person. Learning about himself, about Sasuke and about life in general; seeing knew places, new people and having so many new and exciting experiences.

He felt pretty content to be honest. In fact he couldn't think of anything that would make their current life any more near damn perfect as-

Naruto suddenly felt something uncomfortable writhe in his stomach, like a snake in the grass, and caught off guard he had to turn his face away to stare unseeing at the dirt of the path.

He swallowed thickly, and mentally berated himself for such callous thoughts that flew and hovered at the edge of his subconscious.

Trying to mask his sudden discomfort, he spoke loudly.

"So, what are we doing this time? I know its somewhere on the coast, but I can't quite remember..."

Sasuke shot him an irritated look, and Naruto swallowed down his guilt for lying; he knew exactly what they were doing next- it was a big job, he was looking forward to it. Especially as afterwards, they would be heading back to the city- he could see Iruka again-and Kakashi- and it had been so long...

Sasuke, however, despite his irritation, took the time to jog his memory.

"We're heading to the coastal town of Kashima- apparently; we may have something else to blow up. But we are definitely meeting a contact there."

He paused, and peered at Naruto thoughtfully.

"Naruto, are you all right? Just yesterday, you wouldn't shut up about it."

Naruto nearly choked on air, but managed instead to make a squeaky retort of,

"Yeah, I'm just fine- hey, do you think Iruka will have moved into that new apartment yet?"

Sasuke looked at him with blank eyes, ones which Naruto knew meant to say 'Don't lie to me, _I know you. _However, I will let it pass. This time.'

Naruto hated those looks. He hated them even more when he learnt enough of the Uchiha language of grunts, smirks and looks to know what they meant.

Not particularly wanting to get into a discussion that would just end up going wrong if Sasuke really got into wanting to know his problem, Naruto purposefully switched his gaze to some really rather interesting leaves. They were even two tones! Would you look at that...

Damn Sasuke was still looking at him.

"Ah, Kashima, that ages away, isn't it? How long do you think it'll take us to walk there?"

Ah, good, he managed to distract him. Man, what was with him today? In fact, he'd been having these weird feelings for a few days now. Sasuke was getting pretty suspicious by now, but what was he supposed to say, when he didn't even know what was the matter himself?

He just felt...restless. It wasn't the usual kind and it came so suddenly sometimes, interrupting the peace he'd just been feeling.

How was he to explain something that was probably nothing?

Luckily, Sasuke seemed to take the question seriously.

"A good few weeks, but thankfully we don't have to rush. Our contact won't be able to meet us until well into June."

"Eh?!" yelled Naruto, startled out of his weird thoughts, "But its March right now! How are we supposed to waste three months away?!"

Black eyes sparked, and pink lips twisted into a well used smirk. Or perhaps leer was a better term. Sasuke appeared positively devilish, with narrowed, piercing eyes and a husky voice that spoke of sinful pleasure itself.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll think of _something..._"

Stupid bastard, stupid sex voice.

Naruto felt his face flush red, and ears burning he glared at the smarmy looking cat.

"You pervert! I can't believe all those girls in Tokyo thought you were a cool guy- you're nothing but a horny cat!"

"Oh?" questioned Sasuke in a silky voice, "I don't believe you complain any when we-"

Any more words were halted from coming from his mouth as Naruto slapped a hand forcefully over the Uchiha's mouth, a twitch to his brows as he wrestled with the urge to punch Sasuke right in his pretty face.

"_You_ can just stop talking now- for the both of us."

Sasuke nodded slowly, but was unable to resist using his tongue, as he licked the blonde's hand; mostly for amusement purposes as Naruto's face scrunched in disgust and hastily removed the hand to rub it against his clothes.

"Eeeww. I hate you, you know that?"

Sasuke simply smirked and kept on walking, though he still had a worry about Naruto's somewhat strange behaviour lurking in the back of his head. The blond had been acting strangely for several days now, and though there was an odd, leaden like feeling in his stomach, he really didn't know what it was. Which was frustrating, as he was sure he _should _know.

Something was obviously bothering Naruto, he would just have to get it out of him soon.

For Naruto being upset, was unsettling him as well.

* * *

As it turned out, it would be several more days until Sasuke could shed some light on Naruto's strange moods.

They had been walking quite peaceably along in the early morning; hoping to get to a spring they'd noted a few months ago for lunch. A bath sounded heavenly, what with the sweat and dirt sticking to their skin and clothes. They'd been unlucky in that they'd only found small streams so far; enough to wash faces and catch a drink, but far too small for some proper cleaning. Sasuke, the cat, could practically feel his skin crawl, while Naruto, the fox, seemed slightly less bothered. Still, both were eager to wash off the grime of a week's worth trekking in the mountains.

However, by the time the sun was reaching its zenith in the sky, both men were flagging somewhat as they were forced to trudge up a steep incline. They were tired, having had little sleep the night before due to problems with some wildlife, and Sasuke felt his resolve to keep soldiering on at a fast pace evaporate as Naruto found more interest in the trees than walking.

What need was there to go so fast anyway? They had plenty of time.

With that thought, Sasuke gladly halted halfway up the hill, and instead watched Naruto wander just off the road, looking at the thick moss that dangled off many of the trees in this area. Occasionally, the blond would reach up a hand to test the strength of it, seeing as it could sometimes be useful.

It was hardly necessary, but it beat walking up a seemingly endless road.

Tired and trying not to show it that much, Sasuke's eyelids had started to droop precariously when he was roused by a very strange sound indeed.

"Awh!"

Sasuke blinked furiously, for one second thinking he was stuck in the past, back at school, and about to be attacked by a rabid collection of girls.

Disorientated, he looked for the source of the high pitched squeak of delight, only to find Naruto.

He blinked again, and watched in a frozen sort of disbelief, as Naruto stared with large blue eyes at something on a low hanging branch.

The blond was practically beside himself as he reached out a finger, to softly touch the downy head of tiny chick, which sat in an equally tiny nest.

"So cute!"

He watched raptly as the tiny creature wriggled, its fluffy small body squirming.

"Oh yes you are, oh yes you are!" he cooed, oblivious to his suddenly rather girlish voice, and the utterly horrified stare of his mate. Far too wrapped up in the little baby bird.

Sasuke squinted, waiting for the strange mirage to vanish, and disturbed when it didn't, refusing to leave his sight.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Naruto really _was _...

"Naruto?" called Sasuke tentatively, as if fearing that at any moment his blond fox may attack, his expression stuck somewhere between disbelieving horror and a painful realisation.

"Hm?" Blue eyes looked up at him innocently.

"Are you...are you...being- _broody?"_

Naruto blinked at that, as if waking from a trance. He turned his gaze to his strangely squinting mate, and then to the little nest by his side. Something akin to dismay passed across his face as he jumped back with a startled yelp. He nearly fell over, and stumbling, he turned large eyes to Sasuke.

"No!" he yelled, "No, no, no, no, no! Why would I be like that? And why would I say those things...hehehe, I'm not a girl!"

Naruto sounded strangled, his voice gurgling as if he were trying vainly to choke himself on it. His face was bright red in embarrassment, as he felt disbelief well in him.

Sasuke, however, didn't find any amusement, and when Naruto turned to face him, he was startled to see a tense jaw and cold eyes. He almost looked...upset about something. Naruto felt his stomach drop.

"You don't have to lie to me Naruto, if that's what you're feeling. I mean, it's perfectly normal for you to want..."

He trailed off, and he turned his head away, fists clenched. His bangs of blue-black hair clinging to his pale skin and hiding his expression.

Naruto knew a conversation like this was going to go badly.

"No!" he cried out, lunging the last few steps to stand by Sasuke's side. He used his hands to cup Sasuke's face and turn it towards him when Sasuke didn't move.

"No, no, no, Sasuke, that's not it. I'm fine, I'm perfectly happy okay? I don't know why I'm acting all weird, so don't- so don't get like this okay?" he said softly, trying to convince Sasuke through the will of his gaze.

The black eyes didn't thaw, but Naruto tried to take it as a good sign when pale hands came to rest on top of his own.

"You may not think it consciously, but if you're behaving that way, there has to be a reason for it," said Sasuke just as softly.

Naruto smiled at him, and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it."

"I can't not worry about it. You're my mate, if you're unhappy-"

"But I am happy!" interrupted Naruto angrily, "Perfectly happy in fact, so let's just go and forget this little ...incident ever happened- it's embarrassing enough!"

Sasuke didn't say anything more, but Naruto could see his disgruntled face, and that he was far from content; the way his lips thinned and pressed together tightly, and the fine wrinkles that appeared between his eyes on his forehead.

He'd been hoping to avoid this sort of conversation; it was something of a sore point for the both of them, and there was nothing either of them could do about it, so why worry? Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't see it that way, and got upset- mostly with himself, just to be illogical. Maybe it had something to do with his weird Uchiha pride, or whatever it was, that he felt he couldn't provide for him, or some shit like that. For someone reputed to have such self confidence, Sasuke was remarkably quick to blame himself for things.

The silence stretched between them so long, Naruto was ready to call it quits and simply change the conversation to something inane and carry on up that stupid hill. He was prevented from doing so, however, when Sasuke finally spoke, voice unreadable.

"Naruto, when was your last heat?"

Oh.

"Uhm..."

Naruto blinked and floundered for a moment, lost. He bit his lip as he tried to remember about this somewhat...delicate part of being a youkai.

It had certainly been a shock, when at nineteen it'd happened for the first time. By then, he was pretty sure he knew all about youkai, so you could imagine his surprise when one morning he woke up sweaty, hot and itchy and a new opening between his thighs that was making the sheets wet. Confused he'd reached down to feel something hot and fleshy, and that sent a jolt of raw pleasure up his spine. Disorientated, he'd pulled up his hand and taken a while to work out what the hell was going on.

Fair to say he'd nearly passed out when he realised that it was a perverse rendition of a vagina, which slit open his perineum. And then Sasuke had come into the room of the tiny house they'd been staying in at the time, and things got a bit hazy. But he did remember a lot of sex. Lots and lots, though it was a bit, uh, different to what they normally did.

They were always a bit bestial, but the way Sasuke went at him, humping away, and the way he reacted; a mixture of snarls, trying to get away and then submitting, he knew that there was something vastly different. He'd never felt panic during sex the way he did when Sasuke literally _couldn't _pull out of him, that they were stuck. But being wet did make things a bit easier, which was good as Sasuke certainly wasn't going to wait for something as trivial as lubrication. And he'd been in such a lust induced daze most of the time; he only really came out of the experience with an impression of much pleasure and relief.

He'd only been able to properly grill Sasuke about it afterwards, when the need had been satisfied and the hot itchiness was fading to a dim contentment. Not to mention the slit had closed to nothing more than a tight line that could easily be ignored. Sasuke had then been forced to give a somewhat awkward explanation, that involved youkai technically being genderless (or perhaps gender_full _would be a better term), and so despite outward appearance, could either carry or sire a child regardless. Naruto, as the one who preferred to bottom during sexual encounters, now that he was of a mature demon age, could go into heat in an attempt to conceive, temporarily forming the required opening from the rather handy thing called chakra. Technically, the womb and other necessary parts, including the required eggs, were more permanent fixtures, but only came into use at specific times.

He'd nearly passed out again, but instead settled for slugging Sasuke across the face for keeping such vital information a secret. Not to mention being initially, _very weirded out. _It hadn't helped that at the time, he'd gone into a hyper panic about then being _pregnant, _of all bloody things_._ Further explanation was required that youkai as a rule weren't very fertile, a fact balanced out with their long lives, so it was unlikely Naruto was going to actually have a baby very soon. Add to that, that heats were somewhat infrequent, occurring between every eighteen months to two years (though the gap could be much longer) Naruto was appeased that he wasn't going to be a teen mother overnight. At that time, such a thought gave him shudders at night, and poor Sasuke wasn't allowed back into his pants for quite a while.

That had been a long time ago now though, and Naruto had had several heats; and they were more than enjoyable really; extremely satisfying sex and nearly all the time for up to three weeks solid. What wasn't there to like?

However, now they were older, and much more secure in their bond with each other, the idea of a baby didn't seem quite so...unappealing. They both didn't have a family to call their own, despite Iruka and Kakashi; it just wasn't the same as having someone of your own blood, despite what people may say.

Sasuke was eager to regain a family of his own, pass on his sharingan and revive his clan. Sasuke had always been, at his core, a family man and despite his prickly ways, would surely adore little Uchiha kits of his own.

And for Naruto, having an actual family, related by blood, was something that had always been beyond his grasp. And the desire to actually have someone related to him in the world had lately become stronger than ever. Especially if that little person was from Sasuke, his much loved mate.

As a result lately, the topic had become somewhat awkward between them, and painful.

But there really wasn't anything either of them could do except wait for it to happen.

Though this fact didn't seem to be able to stop Sasuke performing the Uchiha equivalent of sulking.

Biting his lip, Naruto mulled Sasuke's question over, trying to remember the last time. It shouldn't be hard, but getting the timing right could be tricky when it was many months apart.

Last time, he seemed to recall, they'd had to find somewhere underground, and settled for a large burrowed hollow under a tree, as they'd been snow on the ground; and frostbite in sensitive places wasn't fun. It had been hot and steamy, as well as cozy in that underground den, nice and isolated from everywhere else, just as Sasuke liked it; keeping his heating mate away from potential harm danger, and most importantly, other youkai.

After several consecutive days, they'd had to dig their way out through several feet of snow to find food.

He blinked when he realised that that hadn't been last year's winter, liked he'd thought, but the previous one.

"Oh."

"Oh?" asked Sasuke, sounding a bit less sullen as he raised an eyebrow. He seemed to have reached the same conclusion before Naruto had.

"Wow- I didn't think it'd been over two years, no wonder I'm acting weird!"

He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. Sasuke rolled his eyes and called him an idiot.

"Well, at least that explains why you're- well, broody at the moment. You must be going into heat again soon, and your body is preparing for it."

Naruto made a face. While the sex was nice, thinking of the physical changes it brought was still embarrassing, even if he had gotten over the weirdness of what he was by now.

"If you mention hormones again this time, I'll fucking kill you, understand?"

"Hai, hai," said Sasuke lightly, suddenly sounding a lot more cheerful; as much as Sasuke could anyway.

"At least we've got something to do now until June, huh?"

The perverted smirk was back. Naruto felt an eyebrow twitch.

An ominous growl rumbled from the blonde's chest, and before he could be brutally maimed by his mate, Sasuke began to race up the rest of the hill, a murderous fox shouting obscenities from behind him.

He couldn't help but be relieved though, knowing what was with Naruto. And perhaps this time, they might even get a chance to start that family the both of them had secretly longed for, for a very long time indeed.

Now all he had to think about, was where to cloister themselves for the next several weeks so they could have the appropriate privacy.

Oh yes, days upon days of the best angry-passionate- lusty- rough- animal sex would surely make the both of them feel better.

Even running from his murderous mate, he felt his cock twitch, as he thought of what was to come.

He nearly moaned out loud; it'd been far too long.

Chancing a glance over his shoulder he noticed that Naruto had run out of steam already, glaring at him, but bending over trying to catch his breath. Sasuke frowned, and walked up to him gingerly, wary of being tricked, but Naruto appeared to really be tired.

Sure, Sasuke was faster, but Naruto had a hell of a lot more stamina.

Much of his energy must have already been diverted to prepare his body for the possible feat it would have to endure. The actual heat was draining; lots of activity with minimal eating, but most of his energy right now was going to enrich the uterus, to make it viable for a pregnancy; bringing a new youkai into the world was an incredibly draining feat to manage. The baby would take so much from the mother in order to grow in its most vulnerable stage, that there would have to be a large amount of preparation within the body before a pregnancy could even take hold.

And it seemed that right now, Naruto's body was preparing for just that, on the off chance a child was conceived in the coming heat.

Which must be coming sooner than he had thought, if Naruto was already like this.

Sasuke thought deeply, as he took his arms around Naruto and lifted him so they could finish the last climb up the hill. It would probably start in just a few days- he'd have to find a remote place quick, and then feed Naruto up some so he could last through however long they'd be occupied with ...well, sex.

Glorious, glorious sex; he couldn't fucking wait till he had Naruto beneath him, mounted and moaning like the bitch in heat he was...

He licked his lips in anticipation, already feeling his blood start to boil in retaliation to the knowledge that his mate would soon be fertile and needing him.

The Uchiha shook his head a little, trying to shrug off the way his thoughts were already becoming more primal in response to Naruto; it seemed even his body recognized what was up with his mate before he did, and could sense the soon approaching heat.

With a slight grimace, he and Naruto finally reached the top of the thrice damned hill. There was nothing to show it, no clearing in the canopy, and the dirt path winded out into the distance, curving round and out of sight almost immediately, showing nothing of the future terrain.

Sasuke could feel himself growling, the sound too low to leave his chest, but enough to make his ribs vibrate. He peered at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, to see the blond looking rather blankly at the ground. Feeling Sasuke's gaze upon him, blue eyes turned to him, blinking.

"What?"

Sasuke shook his head, fighting the darker instincts of his mind and instead turned to one of the large trees nearby. He looked it up and down measuringly, before taking a small step back.

Crouching a little, he quickly jumped, claws coming out to lodge him safely in the bark and he jumped and shimmied his way up metres of century old tree, with all of his feline grace intact.

He could sense blue eyes scowling at him from below the branches in confusion, but Sasuke ignored it, and instead used his strength to pull him up the last few feet to the tree top, bursting through the halo of leaves and tree bark.

He clung precariously to the increasingly thin trunk, and used his dark eyes to scan the surrounding area with crystal clear clarity. It was a good thing he wasn't afraid of heights, for he was so far off the ground that a fall would be deadly. For a human, anyway.

Keen eyes raked the landscape, seeing farther, and in much greater detail than any human eyes. There were many dips and hollows in the area, covered with a carpet of trees, but they were all far too open, and none caught his eye till he found a little ridge, a bump of grey rock among a sea of green. Just below it was a ribbon of something glistening, and Sasuke decided it would be the best place, with nothing else on offer.

There was no scent of human on the air, or other youkai, and surely they could find somewhere comfortable enough to spend their weeks of rutting.

His inner beast satisfied, Sasuke clawed his way back down, simply jumping the last few metres to land safely on all fours.

He dusted himself off, and was glad to see Naruto recovered, and peering at him questioningly.

"Had to find somewhere for us to go, and I think I've found somewhere good enough. And it's not too far."

"Hai, hai," commented Naruto lightly, pushing himself to stand, jogging towards him.

Obviously, he was feeling better.

The blond fox grinned at him cheekily.

"Now then Sasuke-sama, if you would be so kind to direct us to our kinky love-chamber, I would be most grateful- need to get settled in you know, feel the atmosphere, that kind of thing- maybe even have a few warm ups before the main event, ne?"

Naruto may complain about him being a pervert, but really, Naruto was a keen pervert too.

This somehow felt familiar to the dour cat, and he watched with hungry gleaming eyes as Naruto sashayed past him, blue eyes darkening with the promise of lust.

"You're wiggling your hips, a bit like a girl, you know that right?"

But alas, teasing his blond mate was just far too hard to resist, especially when he was acting serious.

Watching Naruto fume red in annoyance and some anger, and maybe a little embarrassment was far too much fun.

"Shut up! You're ruining it!"

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle and gladly wrapped his arms around the pissed off blond. He gazed into those fiery eyes and rubbed soft circles on Naruto's hips, knowing that his fingers were barely an inch away from some very sensitive sweet spots.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, letting his words breeze over a tan ear, and watched as Naruto closed his eyes at the sensation, "why don't I make it up to you?"

He followed his sultry words with a slow, languid kiss that melted over their lips and roused old burnings inside.

Navy, slitted eyes opened to meet his when they drew apart, and Naruto spoke with a dark, low voice that Sasuke secretly loved.

"Oh, you could make it up to me..."

"Come on then."

* * *

**A/N: How was it? I hope my mpreg explanation was clear enough, more will be explained in coming chapters. And, can we guess whats comings next chapter? Oh yeah baby! The kinky lemons are back, hotter and longer than ever! With extra animal-ness! Nice, eh? I'm glad i got this done before my nasty exam period starts, so if the next chapter is a bit more delayed than my usual posting time, that'll be why- i'm busy with exams i need to get into the uni i want...great. **

**I'd much rather be writing. **

**Anyway, hope you all enjoed this chapter, giving me some feedback would be wonderful, and more to come soon, ja!**


	2. Spring Heat

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**A/N: So sorry for the late update! I think i said before that this was a 'very ill-timed sequel'. First exams, and then as i'm leaving school, it was lots of dinner parties, and leavers balls, and ceremonies and friends wanting to see you all the time, and finally my brothers wedding. Its a long list of excuses, ne? But i tried my best- writing lemons is hard. Yes, LEMONS, also known as GRAPHIC SEXUAL CONTENT of the YAOI variety. This means boys will be going through with rough, wild animal sex together. Do not like, do not read. If you do not want to read explicit material, i suggest skipping this chapter- you know what happens, so you still can keep up with the plot. That said, the sex is...quite animal, so read with caution and please don't report me- it'd suck. A lot. Otherwise, enjoy the chapter please!**

Warnings: **Graphic Sexual Scenes. Yaoi, boyxboy. **Not the usual fluffy mating smex, but i hope you guys like it anyways!

* * *

**Spring Heat**

It was dawn, the light still dim and the air cool, but Sasuke felt little refreshed. His sleep the night before had been fleeting and troubled, and when he finally roused that morning he was feeling more than irritable.

He sat lethargically on a dewy carpet of moss and grass, a lush dark green sheet that was strangely comfortable in its springy texture. It was, however, as damp as the air around him, which was covered in a low mist, that hung thickly over from the fast flowing, clear stream only a few feet away.

Said mist was trapped from escaping by the sheer cliff on the other side of the stream, it's pale brown surface sending a cast of shadows over the valley below.

They'd arrived at the enclosed area midway through the previous night, and ever since Sasuke had felt his restlessness growing exponentially; perhaps due to the fact that he wasn't having the same exercise to relieve his increasing frustration.

Naruto wasn't helping either; he'd become increasingly short, and moody, and last night had refused to let Sasuke sleep next to him. More annoyed at the principle of the matter, as he'd felt uncomfortable himself, Sasuke had padded over several metres in a foul temper and had spent the next few hours _not_ sleeping, but rather watching Naruto and the slow rise and fall of his chest.

He sighed heavily through his nose and leaned back on the thick, gnarled tree trunk he was using as a prop.

It was the one thing he didn't like so much about heats, the antsy few days before hand, when Naruto would refuse contact and would be generally snitty, which in turn irritated him even more because all his instincts were screaming for him to stay as close as possible while waiting for Naruto to be ready.

And of course, his constant shadowing of the blond simply irritated the fox even further.

It was a nasty cycle of frustration, and he could only think longingly of the time when Naruto would instead saunter up to him, smelling so sweet and acting so needy.

He sighed once more, and glanced over towards the stream, that was huddled in mist, and from where several large splashing noises could be heard. He felt his brow twitch as he saw an arc of clear water slap onto the rocky bank.

A wet tuft of golden hair made a brief appearance before it dunked back under the water.

Sasuke bit hard on the inside of his cheek and huffed unhappily. That idiot just had to tempt him, didn't he?!

Now, it wasn't that Sasuke was unsympathetic to Naruto's plight; the blond was already experiencing a tortuous consuming heat that his body refused to let him sate quite yet, and in order to try cooling his poor body down, he dived into the nearest cold body of water.

But now Naruto's luscious, ravish-worthy body was _wet_; water dripping all over firm tan skin, Sasuke could just imagine when Naruto would finally emerge, out from the mist like a nymph come to taunt him, water beads sinuously clinging to the curves of his body, like the little hollow of his collarbone, or the slight angle of hips, slowly but surely dipping down to his thigh...

But, in a horrible twist, if he tried to touch his delectable mate right now, Naruto would instantly transform and probably try to remove parts of his anatomy.

Feeling his mood darken ever further with every little splash of water coming from only a few metres away, Sasuke lamented that Naruto wasn't the only one suffering.

He could only console himself with the fact that Naruto hadn't bothered to even remove his clothes (what he had left on, anyway) before taking a very hasty plunge, and that it would be over soon. As surely in only a few more hours, Naruto would be thrown into heat, and he could finally take out his frustration that was already making the straining in his pants nigh unbearable.

The tips of his fingers twitched, but otherwise, Sasuke made no movement at all.

They'd be more than making up for this painful inactivity by tonight anyways. The first few days of heat were always an....invigorating time. And not only for the sex. Though Naruto would at first come to him, the only male in the area, as well as recognised as his mate, if he wanted to mount the fox, he'd have to make a bit of a fight for it.

After all, Naruto couldn't have a weak mate to sire his children and protect him while he was vulnerable, could he? Along with the barrel load of hormones and free instincts running wild in his blond, Naruto could get pretty violent; he'd probably have to hold him down. Sasuke licked his lips at the thought. Fighting with Naruto was always fun, and being able to have hot amounts of fucking after, or perhaps even during would be sinfully enjoyable.

And the days that followed would be just as stimulating, with the initial roughness gone, the real fun could begin.

Sasuke felt a purr bubble up in the back of his throat as he contented himself with thoughts of the next week or so. If his tail had been out, it surely would have been flicking. As it was, however, he had to keep a tight rein on his impulses, which at the moment were badgering him to go up to his mate and fuck him regardless of whether the blond was fully in heat yet or not.

This would be a bad idea however, for multiple reasons, which ranged from Naruto biting his arm off, to possibly the blond rejecting him and his seed when he was in heat. So, the extremely horny cat was left to sit in his woe of being unfulfilled as his mate practically gave him a show.

Even for someone as controlled as Sasuke, this was getting...agonizing.

In fact, the Uchiha was just about to stand up and stalk off to somewhere where his mate couldn't entice him with his scent when said mate finally rose from the water a final time and stumbled up the bank over wet stone pebbles and onto the mossy carpet, flinging water from his hair like a dog.

In Sasuke's mind however, this action was a lot more graceful, and Naruto's soggy stumbling was damn provocative, especially with his sparse clothing clinging to him like a second skin, and mostly see through.

"Fucking hell, I'm fucking hot!" snapped Naruto, a thick frown plastered to his face.

Sasuke could attest to that.

"Urgh," muttered the blond, rolling his shoulders back and forth while wrinkling his nose, his wet t-shirt riding up enough to show quite a lot of bare skin.

Naruto was completely unaware of the way onyx eyes narrowed as he stomped to the small, makeshift camp that had been set up, that was really no more than a small, discordant pile of their belongings.

He felt hot, and sticky and generally unhappy with the world at large. Especially with Sasuke, whose presence grated on him and his nerves seemingly every moment. A distant part of him knew he wasn't really annoyed by the Uchiha, but his more shallow conscious decided he was, along with damn near everything else right now.

Even the wet grass under his feet felt cloying and irksome and Naruto _really_ hated feeling like this. He couldn't wait to get this weird phase over with, even if he would lose some of his mind to the primal beast that was lurking near the surface already, ready to come out at a moment's notice. It was all he could do not to allow his more demonic features show, though he was aware it was only a matter of time until he rejoiced in the feeling of silky fur sliding along his body.

For now though, he was hot and irritable, and despite his hope that the wet shirt would keep him cooler for longer, the stickiness was unbearable so without further ado he began stripping.

The water logged shirt hit the ground with a wet slap, and Naruto was vaguely aware of a strange, strangled sort of noise somewhere to his left. Glancing up, he saw Sasuke, who had a very strange look on his face.

His dark eyes appeared strangely glazed, and his mouth was set in a tight line. Naruto blinked at him. And again.

Sasuke seemed very lost for a few moments, before Naruto saw his frame tremble just very slightly, and before he knew it Sasuke had let out a little grunt of dissatisfaction and suddenly hightailed it out of the small clearing.

Caught by surprise, Naruto watched blankly as the Uchiha darted between the trees away from him, and he even saw Sasuke revert to running on all fours, his body contorting slightly to fit his new gait.

He certainly moved faster that way, and he was soon out of sight, with only a faint trail of his scent signifying the heavy presence of cat.

Naruto shrugged to himself, not too bothered. Sasuke had done this weird sort of thing before, though the blond was a bit disappointed that the lack of Sasuke around didn't reduce his unease, but rather replaced it with a strange case of nervousness.

His blank face soon contorted into a scowl as his bad temper returned, and he hurriedly pulled off the rest of his clothing, not at all bothered by his new nakedness. Instead he snarled loudly as he pulled some wet material off his foot, sending a scattering of birds off their perch from the surrounding trees.

Naruto watched them flutter away in a scrambled mess with angry blue eyes.

"Che!"

With another feral growl, Naruto flopped his body onto the cool grass, watching as the daylight finally began to pierce through the cloud into his little clearing, burning through the mist. The birds had disappeared, leaving a still calmness in their wake, fleshy green leaves waving just a little in the breeze, the scent of spring flowers riding upon it to tickle his nose before it swept past. The stream water trickled over the pebbles, causing little gushing sounds. It was quite idyllic.

Not feeling much contented by the serene atmosphere however, Naruto could only fall into a fitful doze.

When he woke a few hours later, his mind was blissfully hazy, registering only a couple of things.

Firstly, that he was hot, and secondly, that his mate wasn't there.

Whining pitifully, he rolled on the grassy floor and waited for the male youkai to return.

* * *

It was nearing noon, when Sasuke dubbed it safe to return to Naruto.

Out of proximity from Naruto, his libido had cooled at least somewhat, and he'd been able to get something of a grip on himself.

Not that he wasn't sure it would all go out the window the moment when he saw Naruto again, but hopefully by now the blond would be in a better mood, and a less trying position. Sasuke had felt himself ready to snap when seeing the wet body of his mate become increasingly bare, and it was all he could do tear himself away from jumping him and go in the opposite direction instead.

Though Sasuke now felt less inclined to start fucking anything that moved, it was clear that Naruto's oncoming heat had affected him as well by now. He was still prowling on all fours, claws scratching at the forest floor, and dark furry ears and a thick long tail had appeared. The most telling feature however, was his now permanently half-hard cock. Despite his diligence, it refused to go down, and the painful burn was a sign that Sasuke knew only came at this time.

Soon enough, his length would become fully erect and weeping until his beastly urge to mate was assuaged.

For now, he could already feel the adrenalin and testosterone brimming him full, making him growl low and deep from his chest as a heated scent was carried on the wind. He sniffed delicately, easily recognising the scent as belonging to his mate. It had changed a little from just that morning though, and it inspired the cat youkai to move just a bit faster back to the fox.

It wasn't long until he had made his way back to the clearing, and he padded onto the mossy grass slightly hesitant to what he'd find.

Golden ears twitched, and bright blue eyes turned to face him.

Naruto looked just like the fox he was; furry ears, thickened whiskers, fangs and claws and a thick luscious golden tail that danced in the midday sun. But what entranced Sasuke the most was the seductive sheen to that gaze directed towards him, and Sasuke felt his entire body perk in response.

_At last._

Naruto gave a rumble that was his own version of a purr, and happily regarding the approaching youkai, letting his tail flick seductively against the ground.

"Saassuukke..." he called in a low, lilting voice, and just like a moth to a flame, Sasuke came towards him.

Naruto smirked lightly as the Uchiha let out a thick purr of his own and butted his head against the blonde's. Naruto responded eagerly, pressing his own head as firmly against Sasuke's as he could, sniffing him all the while.

Ears twitched in sync, and Naruto let his tail wag as Sasuke's healthy, musky scent washed over him. He liked this rubbing; it was nice and soothed a bit of the itchy heat in his belly, and Naruto was more than content to let the cat continue to rub against him, purring all the while.

There was the distant sound of shifting cloth as Sasuke languidly removed the irritating cloth that covered his body, and quickly resumed his calm exploration of the fox's nimble body, his mind feeling lazy and drugged by his mate's glorious scent of heat.

Sliding their chests together, Sasuke thought things were going very well indeed, as Naruto seemed more than receptive to his advances, pressing back just as firmly, and Sasuke was pleased to find the fox's own cock begin to spring to life, a warmth starting to press firmly into his belly. He could feel himself begin to become worked up, and soon the urge to claim the fox reared its head.

With a few well placed prods, Sasuke managed to get Naruto onto his front, leaving himself in a much appreciated position. Indolently, and still feeling quite slow, Sasuke let his pale, clawed hands push away tan flesh to expose a wet opening that brought with it a trail of heady scent that left Sasuke more dazed and dizzy than before.

Chest rumbling, Sasuke lowered his head, managing to press his nose right against that warm wet skin, and inhaled deeply. He vaguely felt Naruto shudder below him, panting short breaths into the grass.

The scent was husky, thick and sweet in a way only heating youkai could be.

He gave a soft lap to the twitching opening, purring contentedly as he withdrew, his cock thick, hard and already weeping, burning to be placed inside that warm flesh.

However, just as Sasuke went to mount his mate, things took a turn for the worse- as far as he was concerned- as he was halted by a loud growl from below him.

Irritated that he'd been interrupted, he glared down at the blond below him, his tail flicking in anger as he saw deadly blue eyes glare at him.

He felt the tan body start to curl away from him, and the cat desperately attempted to halt the action by digging in his claws. He snarled down at the fox, pointed teeth growing from his mouth, but Naruto roared back, and Sasuke found himself quickly de-seated from his position, and was forced to dodge as the previously docile blond tried to bite him.

Blood red sharingan eyes swirled as he stared into matching red eyes, pupils slit and daring.

With a burst of lustful excitement, the cat pounced.

* * *

It was dusk; the sun dipping low on the horizon, and the light fading to a grainy grey over the forest covered mountains. The last of the birds were heading into roost, and the night's animals were beginning to stir.

However, in one secluded valley, in a clearing near a shallow stream, the poor birds, after a long day on the wing, were forced to find another perch, as they were unsettled by the guttural, harsh calls coming from below.

The snarls, and growls that filled the air, sounded more like two predators fighting to the death, than the actual act going on itself, for below the trees two figures were locked in the most ancient of acts, moving together in a primal mass of sweating skin and soft fur.

"Ahn...ahn...uh..."

Sasuke panted, sharp teeth flashing from a red mouth as he fought to keep a steady grip on his mate's undulating hips as he thrust his aching length deep inside the other. His claws ripped deep into Naruto's tan skin, drawing sweet little drops of blood that would occasionally drip into the dark silky fur that encompassed Sasuke's arms, up to and well past the elbow.

Naruto writhed beneath him, hardly in a complacent mood as he snarled and bared his fangs at the youkai mounted upon him, twisting his neck around from where it was mashed against the cool moss that covered the floor.

They were both in a similar state; eyes red and clouded, mouths parted and growling, with fur creeping ever higher over their bodies as they lost themselves ever further into their primal states.

There was nothing soft or loving about their current coupling, it was full of only mindless lust and strange aggression as Sasuke pounded away, slick wetness dripping from his cock as he plunged as deep and hard as possible into the fox below, his mind hazy, the only goal to spill his seed deep inside, the hot tightness causing him to pant breathlessly.

Naruto clawed the ground below him, stuck between an instinctual need to test the male above, despite it being his long term mate, and the blinding pleasure that made him keen and pant and made the unbearable heat dance in his belly.

"Ah! Ngh....uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uuuuuuhhhh......"

Their two tails, appendages furred either black or gold, entwined behind them, twisting to suit their position, locked together fiercely as they had rough, feverish sex, in its most carnal of forms.

Now, when the heat was at its peak, there was only time for many, fast and furious couplings between the pair, the most powerful instinct driving them on.

Sweat made the pale and tan skin glow under the low light of dusk, the muscles in Sasuke's back undulating under the glowing smooth skin as he thrust persistently into the fox trapped beneath him, causing low keening cries as his cock rubbed up against Naruto's prostate; the blond writhed beneath him, his own neglected and weeping cock forcibly rubbed against the moss carpet it was pressed into with every roll of the Uchiha's hips.

The torture, the friction, was nigh unbearable and the tight coils of heat consumed him even more fiercely, licking his insides in a tight ball, and in the final moments, Naruto pushed his own hips back, encouraging Sasuke further until the cat's balls began to twitch and tighten and-

"Ughnnnnn.....!"

And he came, spilling his seed within his mate, who in turn folded and buckled, the warm passage squeezing against him and milking to the very last drop.

They both lay still, half collapsed on each other on the mossy ground until Naruto, though still panting, wriggled and growled deep in his throat, before he bucked violently, jolting Sasuke who was still lodged deep inside the blond.

However, the rough surface of his cock finally softened enough that Sasuke was able to pull out of Naruto for the first time in several hours. He finally dismounted his mate, his now softened cock hanging thickly between his thighs, and he stumbled under weak limbs to the side, paw-like fingers scrambling on the cool ground.

He made sure to take a few hasty steps back, however, when Naruto almost took a swipe at him, claws shining and an angry snarl on his usually peaceable face. A little wary, Sasuke finally flopped to the ground a few feet away from his moody mate, exhausted. He felt completely spent after many hours of going at it, both from the actual act itself, and from restraining Naruto enough so that he didn't get his eyes gouged out.

He briefly turned his glazed eyes to Naruto, watching the blond as he tottered to the nearby stream, where he lapped at the cool waters lazily, before dunking his whole face in the stream. He resurfaced promptly, shaking his head and letting water droplets fly everywhere as his now wet golden mane of hair swung from side to side.

Naruto then turned measuring eyes towards his mate, but quickly dismissed him as he padded over to a dry spot of cool moss and grass to lay on, flexing his claws happily as the worst of the burning heat had left him, at least for the time being.

Exhausted by their efforts, both youkai let the darkness take over their vision almost immediately.

* * *

Sasuke awoke slowly, mind fuzzy and hazy, his eyes glassy as he blinked in the low light of a spring dawn. The grass and moss he was laying on was wet with dew and there was low lying fog hanging over the stream to the side.

Birds fluttered and sang incessantly.

The cat groaned and rolled onto his back, letting his limbs hang awkwardly after him. His body was so sore and somewhat achy, as if he'd managed to pull all his muscles the day before; a good sort of ache.

He yawned, showing off his sharper than normal teeth and stretched out the greater kinks of his body, fighting off the chill that had settled into his bones after a cool night with nobody to warm him.

He peered over towards Naruto, unsurprised to find the blond still fast asleep, curled up with his tail still out; the bushy appendage brushing his tan nose.

Sasuke sniffed the air delicately, scenting that though Naruto was still in heat, indicated by the stir he felt in his groin, it wasn't as strong, as the urgency to mate was lessened, and he could think more clearly now, not just in a primal state.

He let his tongue wet his lips; they could have a lot of fun today.

Feeling anticipation sear his blood, Sasuke slowly raised himself off his damp bedding for the night and crawled on all fours with feline grace over to his still-slumbering mate, who was innocently breathing deep in the clutches of unconsciousness and well-deserved rest.

A shame it wouldn't last long, as his attacker stalked him swiftly and efficiently, coming to his side in mere moments.

Naruto wrinkled his nose, eyes still closed as he felt a wet nuzzling along his neck, and even a little nip to his ear.

He grumbled under his breath, unwilling to leave his delicious sleep, even as some creature molested him. He gave a sluggish snarl and rolled over, swatting blindly before trying to fall back to sleep.

Peace. But only for a few more moments.

Naruto became completely still as a naked, firm body wrapped itself around him, pressing hard from behind. Strong arms wrapped around his body like a vice, and sharp fangs nipped his ear once more before a purring voice growled.

"Come now, Naruto-chan, it's time to get up..."

The voice was lilting, and Naruto recognised it immediately.

A blue eye squinted open to stare somewhat irritably at an exasperatingly smug and smirking face.

"Go away..." he muttered, too tired and not much in the mood, as his sleepy state kept the warm heat from returning too swiftly.

Pale hands drifted down his chest, nimble fingers tracing the grooves of his toned abdomen, trailing to rub soft circles around his navel, claw-like nails occasionally scratching in sensitive places that made the blond squirm.

A chuckle sounded near his ear.

Sasuke blinked, surprised, as he suddenly found himself skidding a few feet away on the dewy grass, left staring surprised at a tan back. It took a moment to realise that Naruto had just shoved him off.

Sasuke frowned, more than a little put out that his advances had been stomped on so bluntly, _and when his mate was in heat too!_

Sasuke scowled at Naruto's back, before quickly coming up with a plan Naruto would not be able to ignore. Feeling satisfied with his new approach, he stealthily moved into position.

There was absolutely no way on earth that Naruto could try to remain asleep when he felt a devilish tongue probe between his ass cheeks. He gasped, blue eyes snapping wide as the wet appendage lavishly licked all the way along his crack, as fingers grabbed and pulled his poor ass apart.

"Oh...."

Naruto could feel the dormant heat begin to flare, a soft pant and a groan slipping from his mouth as Sasuke moved to tease his opening, before the other male began to suck lightly on the sensitised flesh surrounding it.

"Uh!"

Sasuke smirked against Naruto's hot entrance as he felt forceful hands grip into his hair to get a firm grip on his scalp and move it ever forward, thrusting his head towards the musky scented hole.

Pleased with the encouragement Sasuke tilted his head, twisting his body in its slightly uncomfortable position, so he could use his tongue and push deep inside of his lover. He quickly tasted the wetness as he felt Naruto buck up above him, feeling the muscles of inner walls begin to clench desperately as he both sucked and licked his blond mate to distraction.

"Oh god..." moaned Naruto, letting his eyes drift shut as Sasuke continued his torture of tongue fucking him, and he desperately clenched, trying to find more pressure, more friction to relieve the swirling, burning ache inside of him. He tried to rub his thighs together at the overwhelming sensation, but with Sasuke between his legs, they only rubbed against the pale soft skin of his lover, a ticklish sensation that made his toes curl, feeling the entirety of Sasuke's body between his legs.

He started to lose his mind as the heady heat began to take over once more, the sinful pleasure reawakening his desperate need. He began to whine as he writhed uncomfortably, trying to use his grip on his mate's head to push him further inside him yet again.

Sasuke took this as a sign to start rocking back and forth, using his tongue to thrust in and out of the twitching fox.

It was pure torture, as the fluttering pleasure wasn't enough to satisfy his craving, and he growled out of his throat at the Uchiha, and when Sasuke didn't move, Naruto, face flushed and eyes glassy with lust, pushed Sasuke away. Quickly he placed a hand on the pale demon's chest, and Naruto slithered his way along the ground until he was far enough under Sasuke so he could reach the only thing that could now give him the sweet release he desperately needed.

Sasuke watched with a half lidded gaze as his mate, near spitting with unresolved tension, placed one trembling but firm hand on his hard weeping cock, while the other crept to fiercely grab his backside. Sasuke did nothing as Naruto wriggled and manoeuvred under him, spitting out frustrated growls and yips.

He couldn't help but take notice however, when Naruto, using his demonic strength, rammed Sasuke's cock straight inside him, using the hand he'd placed on the Uchiha's ass to push him as deep as possible.

"Uhnnnn....."

Naruto groaned deeply below him, and Sasuke couldn't help but mirror him, his face contorted with pleasure as he felt Naruto's firm, warm wet walls close around his aching length. Shuddering at the sensation, Sasuke shifted so his arms wrapped tight onto Naruto's torso, for leverage.

Naruto bucked, growling, and Sasuke couldn't take the stimulus anymore, and began to thrust brutally, snapping his hips back and forth on top of the blond, burying his face in the crook of the blonde's neck. He could feel Naruto's hot breath on his neck, ruffling his hair with every thrust that brushed against a whiskered cheek. Naruto's arms were trapped by his sides, and did the only thing they could do; hands gripping the slippery blades of grass as Sasuke's cock impaled him with the most wonderful friction and pressure imaginable, pressing into him so intimately.

He gasped, occasionally forced to grit his teeth against the white hot sparks when Sasuke hit his prostate dead on, and his subsequent tightening would cause Sasuke to growl ferally against his neck in his own hot, tingling pleasure.

Coils rapidly began to tighten in their bellies, both their bodies sensitive at this time, and Sasuke began to thrust harder and harder, while Naruto arranged his legs to entwine around Sasuke, and hooking his feet together, he pulled Sasuke towards him in time with every thrust, mindless pants falling from between wet pink lips.

"Ah- ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!"

The feel of the soft skin of Naruto's inner thighs rubbing against his sides was nearly Sasuke's undoing, sending a sudden spike of arousal through him, and his thrusts started to become more and more jerky, but more forceful, until the two groaning bodies were slipping along on the grass, their movements sending them several inches along the ground.

Sasuke panted hard and fast into Naruto's neck, and as the hot tight heat surrounding him clenched one more time, he couldn't hold it anymore, and with a thick groan and biting into the supple flesh of his mate's neck, he came, spurting his seed deep inside Naruto's body. His entire body shuddered, and he could only keep up a few more lazy thrusts as his arms trembled on either side of Naruto's head.

Fortunately, the tight hot coil on Naruto's stomach finally released itself in a wave as he felt the hot wetness fill him, the knowledge that it was Sasuke's cum bringing him to completion, his body convulsing.

"Oh...."

His bathing in the sweet afterglow of his orgasm was cut off somewhat though as the heavy body of his mate chose that moment to fall on top of him.

"Oof!"

Winded, but mostly shocked, he glared at the back of Sasuke's dark head, despite feeling Sasuke lick kindly at his neck where he had bit down too hard and drawn blood.

Sluggishly, and feeling very tired once more, Naruto brought up his palms once more and shoved the Uchiha off of him. It didn't work as well as earlier, the cat not going very far. In fact, Sasuke was still laying half on top of him, but at the least Naruto's chest was now free to breathe.

Sasuke didn't bother to pull out of him, and instead, unfazed by Naruto's actions, cupped his mate's face with one hand and leaned in for a sloppy kiss, tongue moving languidly over abused lips. Naruto groaned lazily, and returned the gesture happily, letting Sasuke settle against him this time as the both of them drifted off together into post coital slumber, chests rising and falling together in a soft synchrony.

* * *

The many following days slipped by in a similar fashion, a lazy, erogenous mix of lusty sex and heavy rest. Neither demon moved far from the relatively secure glade they had secluded themselves too.

However, such a lifestyle couldn't last forever, and a couple of weeks after the whole thing started, Naruto woke one morning to find the itchy heat had dissipated, leaving only a heavy contentment behind.

Sasuke woke somewhat later that morning, torn between disappointment that the time had ended, and relieved that he could relax and not be badgered; by the last few days, Naruto was nudging _him _to get to it.

His balls fucking _ached._

However, now the lusty heat was over with, more important needs made themselves heard, including a hasty dip into the stream to wash off an encrusted mess of dirt, sweat and cum, and then _food._

Having not eaten in almost two weeks, both youkai's were starving.

They didn't even have to speak; their eyes met and they spared only a moment to sweetly nuzzle each other before Sasuke headed off to the forest to find game, while Naruto turned sharp, beady eyes to the fast flowing stream.

It was a consensus between them that they would collect as much food as possible, and then feast on it together, in a few hours time. They nearly always did this after heats, and Naruto was looking forward to be able to sit beside his mate, exhausted, but still be able to actually _talk _to the man.

Conversation hadn't really been on the agenda recently.

Naruto groaned with satisfaction as he rolled and clicked his shoulders, digging through the haphazard pile of rough cotton clothes that they'd abandoned previously. It was always a refreshing experience, those first few days after heat, where his body could rejoice in not being insatiably horny.

Oh yeah, it was fun for a while, sex marathon and all that, but it wasn't made distinctly for pleasure, and it was rough on the body; even with his excelled healing, he was still a bit achy in places, and delightfully tired to his bones.

Naruto felt more than satisfied though, and was more than happy to spend the next few days here recuperating with Sasuke, before they headed off to who knew where.

Though, Sasuke probably knew where they were going next; damn bastard must have had a fucking radar implanted in his head.

Naruto sighed, and cast a lingering forlorn glance to the undergrowth through which his mate had disappeared.

If there was one thing he didn't like about his extreme case of post-coital...ness, it was that he would immediately get antsy whenever Sasuke disappeared, even without being annoyed that he'd gone off.

The logical part of him knew, of course, that this unease was natural; he could be pregnant, but it would be so early that his potential kits _could _be easily aborted if another male youkai appeared and tried to sow his own seed.

Such a thing would be pretty uncommon and shit luck these days, but it was an instinctual thing and couldn't be helped. It normally lasted at most a few weeks, during which time Sasuke would act particularly smug to no one but himself as Naruto clung to him more than usual.

_Pervert._

And if he _was _pregnant, then he'd end up practically draping himself over the damned cat, to make sure his mate didn't go anywhere.

Of course, if that were to happen, then surely Sasuke would quickly pass through smug, proud and right on down to outright preening.

Naruto amused himself with trying to imagine that image as his tan hands fumbled with a simple coarse haori and pants that hung loosely above his ankles. While he threw on the makeshift outfit, he couldn't help but frown, scowling down as he tied the belt.

There were so many possible what-ifs, but already the only one that mattered was if he was indeed pregnant or not.

He ruthlessly squashed the little hopeful voice saying that _this time, must be this time_, and tried his best to be logical about the situation. Not one of his strengths to be sure, but if he didn't, this situation would be near impossible to get through.

If he let his hopes rise, only to then the fall to disappointment, it would be too great a drop. Worse still, Sasuke, who knew him too well, would feel even worse, his pride already bashed about his inability to sire a child.

Never in his life, did Naruto ever think he'd be in _this _sort of situation. If he'd still been a teenager, he surely wouldn't have cared, and indeed when he'd first been told of such low fertility rates he'd been relieved. Strange, he thought bitterly, how things could change so much in only a few short years.

He sighed a little, and ran his fingers through his newly cleaned blond hair, the golden strands catching the mid-morning light.

They would both have to just wait and see what happens, and in the meantime it would be best to presume that there was no baby. That didn't mean he wouldn't watch out for things that could be harmful if he were, but- best not to think of it until proven otherwise.

Naruto knew for a fact that Sasuke would refuse to talk of it that night, or even for many days afterwards. Only a couple months down the line, when everything had run its course, could he mention the fact that it hadn't worked, to which Sasuke would grunt, not say a word, but would nonetheless be bitchy for days later.

Naruto couldn't stop a smile as he thought of it; even if the topic was a bit sour, Sasuke could be so cute sometimes. And he was always at his most bastardly about things he cared about.

Naruto hummed, once again off key, though he would adamantly deny it was anything but brilliant, and hitched and rolled the trousers to up past his knees before wading deftly into the stream, which came up about as high in the centre.

He gasped a little, the cold this time cutting through his skin like a knife, and he breathed deeply to fight off the urge to jump right out.

He let his toes feel out the pebbles underneath his feet and he moved with an almost elegant purpose as he zigzagged his way, looking for the perfect spot.

Where a part of the bank crumbled into soil, creating a helpful ridge, Naruto let out a small "Aha!" of victory, before plunging his arms right to the elbows into the water, rooting around with his nimble fingers.

The fish in this stream, though plentiful were too small to put in the effort for catching them. Sasuke would probably say something snarky here, about how _he_ could catch a bunch just fine, and as he thought it, Naruto felt himself missing his bastardly other half.

* * *

Sasuke tramped through the forest undergrowth without much care. Exhausted from his labours, both from hunting that day, and his previous activities, the Uchiha could care less if he wasn't as stealthy as he normally was.

He was more than sure that no one was around, and his nose hadn't led him wrong yet.

He'd spent a good long time trying to find anything big enough to at least satisfy both his and Naruto's ravenous appetite, and then the bloody animal had led him on a chase through more than one thorn bush. It was all he could do not to tear into the bloody thing immediately, but he'd forcibly reminded himself of his poor starving mate and grumpily slung the sika deer over his shoulders.

Of course, Naruto didn't need him to hunt for him, but the blond would undoubtedly hit him quite a bit if he didn't come back with anything.

Naruto could be surprisingly vicious when hungry.

Sasuke sighed to himself; at least Naruto would have to concede that it was impossible to find ramen out here. Somehow, no matter how many years passed, no matter what cuisine they came across, the blond dobe would still lament over missing cup ramen.

Feeling far to exasperated to even some up with a comment inside his own head on that matter, he simply traipsed on, feeling more than ready to collapse.

He grunted, slowing only slightly to be able to shift and heave the carcass further up his back, before walking on at a deceptively fast pace, considering how tired he felt.

Eat, then sleep. With preferably a warm snuggling dobe put in there somewhere.

Sasuke smirked lazily; it was always nice after Naruto fighting against him during mating, that now the fox would happily tuck himself against his body at any opportunity. Yes, it was mostly an instinct, but he knew that Naruto secretly revelled in it.

Nodding to himself dazedly, Sasuke nearly let out a call of relief as he saw the by now familiar trees that lined the small glade where they'd set up camp.

He planted heavy foot falls against the moss, and let the deer fall to the ground without much care near their tiny little campsite.

That was strangely empty of one Uzumaki Naruto.

With resolve, he refused to let his knees buckle, and instead continued to stand and turned to look for his apparently wayward mate.

There was a little splash of water, and Sasuke glanced downstream to find Naruto.

He couldn't help but to stare, as he saw Naruto wading through the water, elbows deep as he fiddled, using a long patch of the haori he'd snagged on as a basket for his catch.

Sasuke watched as Naruto withdrew wet fingers from the water, a tight shell in hand before it was dropped carelessly with many others, and Naruto kept on foraging.

However, it didn't last long, as obviously the blond sensed someone watching, and when he straightened and turned his head, he sent a blinding grin Sasuke's way, a hint of a laugh tickling his features, eyes closed in happiness.

"Teme!"

The blond began wading towards him, his rolled up pants looking adorably cute, though he probably didn't know it, and Sasuke was struck with just how fortunate he was, to have a wonderful mate like Naruto.

Who was so different and unique to anyone he'd ever met.

One who, despite everything Sasuke did, still loved him so much.

He couldn't help but smile softly back as Naruto staggered the last few feet in long strides, tottering in a way that meant he could fall any minute in his haste.

Sasuke gladly reached out to grab the blonde's arm when he was in range and pull him up the bank precariously.

Naruto's feet slipped, and there was a little calamity, but he made it safely up, along with his armful of fresh water shellfish.

"Hey," he smiled, and Sasuke couldn't resist leaning in to give a fleeting kiss to those pink lips. He didn't bother to move away, and let his nose rest against Naruto's peaceably, his eyes slipping closed.

"Hey now, don't fall asleep on me already!" teased Naruto huskily into his ear.

Sasuke gave a small groan, but pushed himself away, not far, but enough that the pair could meander over to where they'd light up a small fire.

Sasuke gratefully sat on the ground, and even more appreciatively pulled a pliable warm body next to his, wrapping his arm around Naruto's shoulders possessively.

Large blue eyes turned to stare at him; Naruto's face a picture of innocence.

"What is it?"

Sasuke simply shook his head and went to start preparing the sika deer for them.

Words really weren't necessary.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter isn't quite so long, and i feel there is something a bit off with it, but i couldn't keep you guys waiting any longer! Especially as the first chapter got such a good reception! I was amazed by the review count! And i know there were a few unsigned ones i wanted to reply too...but i've sorta lost track- sorry! #feels really bad. But i appreciate all of them, and next time there should not be such a long time between chapters, so i'll be sure to remember! Hope you enjoyed that chapter, and that the lemons were ok- i'm still not that great at them.**

**Hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter should be out much sooner! And we'll get to see more of whats been going on in the world! Until then, ja ne!**

* * *


	3. Two Minutes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

A/N: Hey! Guess who's not dead! Sorry about this horrible delay, but arranging to go to uni has turned into such a farce- i officially hate paperwork, and anyone who associates themselves with it. I'm off tomorrow morning to uni, so i'm afraid to say, it may be a few more weeks before the next chapter- i need to be social and drink much! That said, i am still alive, and still writing, so don't worry- i often write more when under pressure- bizzare, ne? Anyway, enjoy the chapter- perhaps not my best, but i couldnt make you very nice people wait any longer!

**Warnings: ....Some perhaps killer fluff. Ahh Sasuke, you know you're a giant marshmallow inside really. Oh, and Yaoi. Oh! And mpreg.**

* * *

**Two Minutes**

"Saaaassuukkkee!!"

Sasuke made no motion to show that he'd heard and continued his steady pace.

"Sasuke!"

...

"Oi! Wait up!"

He sighed deeply to himself.

"Baaaassstttaarrrddd!"

Left eye twitching just a little, Sasuke finally came to a halt, half turning to stare down the road, where a haze of dust lingered above the dried yellow dirt, partly masking the figure approaching.

Sasuke stared with irritation as Naruto finally burst through the curtain of loose dust, only to pant noisily beside him, hands on his knees.

He didn't bother to remove his gaze even as fierce blue eyes glared up at him.

"Fuck you're mean! I have to stop to take a piss, and you just waltz on without me!"

Sasuke blinked slowly.

"Why would I _want _to stop?"

Naruto gaped at him, red mouth hanging open stupidly before it snapped shut and Naruto shoved himself away from him with a humph of dismissal.

"Whatever. Not as if I don't know that you just want to get out of this heat soon as possible."

Sasuke grunted. Naruto put his hands behind his head and languidly continued their walk.

They padded on silently for a few moments before sly blue eyes slid towards him.

"After all, with that dark hair, you could probably fry an egg on your head."

Sasuke shot his talkative mate a baneful glare but said nothing, which Naruto seemed to take as a victory as he grinned, beaming at him.

He couldn't really argue the point unfortunately; it was baking under the early summer sun. There had been no rain for days and days, and the entire country was gripped in an early heat wave, even though it was just entering June.

The overhead sun was sweltering everything under it. The plants were drooping, the earth was cracking and Sasuke felt as if he was slowly cooking within his own skin. Even the birds didn't seem to want to take flight.

It was early afternoon by now, the midday passed, but in Sasuke's opinion it was only getting hotter, and he had the sweat rolling down his back to prove it.

Sasuke didn't like the heat. As an Uchiha, his very pale skin would burn, not tan, and the suffocating temperatures truly felt as if they were choking him. It all left him incredibly irritable.

All he wanted to do right now was find some shade; preferably with a stream or river that hadn't dried up yet and sleep the rest of the day away. If they had to travel, he would have much preferred to do so at night. It wasn't as if he wouldn't be able to see where he was going.

But no, thought Sasuke scathingly, throwing Naruto a spare glance, he had to be travelling with _Naruto, _sun incarnate, who was perfectly happy to travel through the day, saying it would be easier to sleep at night when it was cooler.

A tiny part of Sasuke really hated Naruto right now; the blond had his eyes closed, with a smile on his face and seemed genuinely content to walk all day. Sure, he could see the thin coat of perspiration that covered him, but Naruto definitely didn't seem too bothered by it.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had to feel crotchety, sticky and generally all round miserable.

Sasuke grunted to himself to express some of his inner anger, but said nothing.

After all, they were running late enough as it was.

It quite escaped the normally calm headed Uchiha, how they could be running behind schedule, considering they had had so much time to get to the small port town they were heading to, but it had slipped away from them alarmingly quickly.

They'd had a break when Naruto went into heat of course, but after that it should have only taken a couple of weeks maximum. However, they'd run into a stream of problems. First, they'd been forced to bail out on any form of transportation, which was a huge pain.

During their years in the countryside, they'd used various old dilapidated buses, hitchhiked and occasionally sat in the back of some very questionable trucks. Oh, and the odd train.

However, only a few days after they'd set off once again, they'd encountered a small band of hunters acting as guards on a tollgate.

It would have been bad form to kill them and attract attention in such a main thoroughfare, though their enemy often had no such qualms. As a result they'd had to take a different route, and to not risk detection and the trouble it would bring, avoid any main roads or even public transport for the rest of the way too, just in case.

Luckily, youkai were more skilled than any at cross country, but it did take longer and then they'd had to find food and water on the way and lots of little niggling things that meant a good two months later they still weren't where they were supposed to be.

It was annoying that they wouldn't have much time to spare when they got there to set up before they met their contact, who was more than slightly suspect in the first place.

Unbidden, a deep frown formed on his brow.

Deep in thought, he didn't notice, until Naruto called him out on it, his cheerful voice distracting him completely.

"Hey Sasuke, what's that scary look for?"

"Hn?"

Sasuke looked up in surprise to find Naruto looking at him with a very strange look on his face. It wasn't concern or anything like that. Instead it was a sort of fondness mixed with something Sasuke couldn't for the world place but made something in his gut stir uneasily.

The blond gave his questioning look a small, winsome smile and blue eyes glinted meaningfully at him.

Sasuke felt his face flush, and turned his head away.

"Hn. It's nothing."

Naruto nodded, obviously not believing him, and turned to stare at the painted sky above instead.

"Ya know, we're probably gonna be there in the next day or so, right?"

"H-hai..."

Had he just stuttered?

What the hell for?

Sasuke furtively rubbed his temple, fearing he might be getting heat stroke.

Naruto ignored his actions completely and continued blithely.

"So, where we gonna stay while we're there, a hotel?"

Trying to ascertain that he was still functionally normally, Sasuke answered in the blankest voice possible.

"No, it'll be far less risky if we stay some way away in the forest somewhere."

Blue eyes narrowed at his back.

"Unless that's what they _want _us to think!"

Sasuke sighed. How many times?

"No Naruto, we are not staying in a hotel."

The blond promptly whined.

"But Saasssuukke! We've been walking around in the stupid forest for months! I'm dying for a bed- _a bathroom!"_

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and stared determinedly away, determined not to get caught up in Naruto's deadly puppy eyes.

"No. And I wouldn't have thought you would wimp out like this, _dobe_."

Naruto's face contorted into a scowl.

"Argh! Even Konoha had bathrooms! Is it too much to want to lay my back on something that isn't going to punch through my spine if pressed too hard?"

Sasuke huffed in irritation, not willing to admit he'd love nothing more than to have a hotel suite at their disposal, and instead cuffed the blond round the head.

"Suck it up dobe. After this we're going back to the city. Our safety is much more important than a _bed."_

Naruto kept on glaring at his back for a good five minutes, and Sasuke tuned out the dark mutterings. He knew he had won out when the blond finally heaved an over the top sigh, and staggered to walk beside him once again. Sasuke resisted the urge to smile when Naruto gave him a reproachful look.

"Che, bastard. Why is it when you say things, you make me agree?"

A smirk came out, not a smile.

"That's because its just good common sense usuratonkachi, not great wisdom."

Sasuke remembered to duck as soon as he'd finished to miss a tan fist colliding with his face.

Still, afterwards Naruto didn't say anything more and went back to contentedly walking along beside him for the rest of the day.

Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion Naruto was so content, due to the fact he could watch the cat at his own leisure be slowly- but brutally- tortured under the hot, baking sun.

The smug smiles now and then sort of gave it away.

Sasuke could only sigh.

He loved the idiot after all.

* * *

Naruto felt really bad about hiding it.

It was the next morning, but so early the summer mist had yet to burn off even a little.

In fact, it was barely dawn, the atmosphere a murky green blue, and the air almost chilly.

It was a welcome refreshment for the fox who sat on a blissfully cold stone that was covered in patches of moss, and was a little away from where they'd finally pitched camp the night before.

Where Sasuke was still sleeping, catching sleep in the early coolness of the day before he had to face the heat once again.

Naruto couldn't help but let his gaze linger in that direction, where his prickly mate lay all by himself.

It'd been extremely funny the first time they'd experienced a summer heat wave- Sasuke hated a lot of things, so that didn't surprise him, but to see him get all raggedy and bad tempered over the weather was hilarious. Naruto was sure that back in the city, on a hot summer's day, Sasuke would sequest himself inside a cool room with air conditioning on full blast.

Naruto smiled fondly, but it was gone in an instant.

The Uchiha would be most displeased if he woke to find that his mate had disappeared, but Naruto couldn't help but need the air.

Both literally and metaphorically.

He hadn't exactly been lying to Sasuke, but for the past couple of weeks he'd been hiding something from him- and Naruto hated doing so. It made his skin crawl with guilt whenever he thought of it.

And the fresh air was also helping calm the sick feeling in his stomach.

The sick feeling was true nausea that had made him vomit a few times, but mostly just made him lose his appetite.

Naruto nibbled his lip and ran a hand through his hair.

He'd started to feel..._different _lately, and he had absolutely no idea what to do about it. Normally, he'd have just dismissed it as a little illness and be done with it. But he was distinctly aware that he'd been in heat roughly three months ago and-

Naruto grunted, and scowled at the ground.

If he were pregnant, now would be the time he'd really start to notice it- and there was obviously _something_ wrong with him. He was often nauseous for no apparent reason what-so-ever, and it came and went randomly. And on top of that- he just felt plain _weird._

His body simply felt a bit different than normal, he couldn't quite pinpoint the source, but it was starting to make him act weird too. Sometimes he'd feel so irritable with everything- with his feet, his hands, his head, the trees, the stupid birds, the flowers, Sasuke, everything! And then he'd feel extremely sleepy and even more worryingly, he would be unable to actually stay awake.

One of the reasons they'd made such slow progress, though Sasuke wouldn't ever say, was that Naruto would be forced to nap. Often.

And then there was the near constant need to know where Sasuke was- as if he'd suddenly get up and run away from him! This was particularly strange when he was pissed off at the Uchiha (which happened fairly often) and yet he still kept an eye on him.

The latest of the weirdness was the sudden...craving for raw meat. And lots of it. He'd made the excuse that not cooking after a hunt would be quicker, and Sasuke was well to agree, and nothing had been strange. But Naruto had been shocked at his own voraciousness when the deer was down and he ate like he'd been starved for days.

Thankfully Sasuke, though an observant creature, hadn't mentioned anything.

Naruto wasn't stupid.

He knew these were signs of pregnancy. But to actually think that he _was,_ that there was a baby growing inside him, right at that moment, was too...unreachable, frightening and too hopeful of an idea for him to quite grasp.

After all, why should he now be pregnant, and not another time? But on the other hand why shouldn't he be this time?

Naruto grit his teeth and folded his arms, resting them under his ribs as he glared at the mossy ground around the rock perch he'd found for himself.

He couldn't bring himself to tell Sasuke so far. He'd never even said to Sasuke before that he felt pregnant, so Sasuke would probably make a big deal out of it. And if then it was a false alarm, Naruto wasn't sure if he could bear to see Sasuke's reaction.

Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek, feeling mildly ridiculous.

They both dearly wanted a family, and yet here he was, hiding away from Sasuke.

The problem was that Naruto knew the mind could do weird things, even to the person's body too. An old woman that Naruto had vaguely known about back in Konoha, who had too many wrinkles, and not enough grey hair, had been sure she was fatally ill. She even had symptoms, and began to waste away, but no doctor could find anything wrong with her at all. The only thing wrong had been that her husband had died recently, and the forced diagnosis turned out to be that her mind wanted her to die.

And she did, only a few weeks later, even though she hadn't been truly ill at all in the first place.

Granted, Naruto didn't think this situation was nearly as morbid or as sad as that old woman, but he was sure it wasn't beyond his body to show symptoms of carrying a baby, even though he wasn't.

The nausea could be pure nerves, and the other things all in his head.

Still, there was one symptom that Naruto didn't think he could disbelieve, as it was a physical change.

The blond glanced surreptitiously towards his chest, before darting it away, as if he'd be whipped if he stared too long.

If he was having a baby, his body would start to produce milk for it, and that would mean physical changes in his...chest...area.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. He was also _pretty sure_ that he did not want breasts! Though, it would be more of simply swelling, but...still!

It would be pretty weird.

And at this stage, it would probably be only some tenderness and..._stuff._

So really, he only had to check and probably touch it to see.

But until now he'd shied away from it. Naruto didn't like being cowardly, but he felt that this was a different sort of thing- he'd be disappointed if there was no change (which was weird enough, thanks) but he'd also be just a tad terrified if there was. Even if he wanted a baby, there was a big difference in reality.

However, not knowing one way or the other was slowly driving him mad. Especially with keeping Sasuke in the dark so far. He didn't deserve that and this morning Naruto was determined to confess his feelings on the matter before they reached the port town.

And so, with only a little hesitation, Naruto finally reached up to grab the collar of his loose but covering yukata.

He gave a frantic look around himself, but only the birds were starting to wake, and feeling very much like he was feeling himself up (which was sorta gross), Naruto pulled it away to both stare down and let a hand paw at his chest.

At first he couldn't see any difference, and he felt his face flame in pure embarrassment at what he was doing, but he continued all the same, trying to find anything abnormal.

He pressed down gently and didn't feel anything, and he couldn't begin to explain the pit his stomach became, his chest became, or to explain it.

He was going to give it up as a lost cause, but decided to pinch a nipple regardless- it normally felt good, but it wasn't a hugely sensitive area.

"Ow!"

Blue eyes blinked, as the noise was spurted out more on reflex than actual pain.

Still, that had actually hurt a little.

Naruto bit his lip, and gave his nipples another once over, fiddling with his top irritably to see better, his face frowning in concentration.

They were a bit darker, he first decided, but more noticeably they were larger, and when the buds were put under pressure it was clear they were sore. Naruto found himself offhandedly think that it was good that he and Sasuke had been unable to find time for sex lately, let alone foreplay, cause if Sasuke had bitten them hard (as he was wont to do- the pervert) it would have hurt so much he'd have probably clubbed the cat over the head.

Feeling a little dazed, Naruto withdrew he hand.

It took a few moments, but the glaze on his eyes cleared and he snapped back to life, hurriedly readjusting his yukata and looking around frantically, not wishing anyone to have seen what he'd just done.

Eventually he settled, but he didn't feel much better. He bit his lip again, only now sure that unless he got an actual test or something, he wouldn't truly believe it. That or if he started to show.

He gave a fleeting glance to his stomach, which was still very flat. That didn't stop him from placing a tan hand over the skin there however. He even gave it a little rub, as if that would tell him whether there was a baby in there or not.

It only lasted a few seconds though, before Naruto removed his hand calmly, even as his eye twitched.

Another thing to add to the list- unfounded broodiness.

That, or he was just going crazy, he thought with a sigh as he pushed himself up from the rock he had been sitting on for a good half hour.

This was getting more embarrassing by the minute.

Sasuke would be waking soon; and very grumpily if he wasn't there.

And so he walked sedately back to the little camp they'd set up, feeling very happy when his dark haired mate came into view, his peaceful form slumped on its side under the boughs of a large tree.

Naruto smiled softly at the figure.

Still, he knew at least one thing after his little...er....inspection. He definitely had to tell Sasuke.

He was sure that Sasuke had taken his silence as evidence that their heat together had come to nothing again, though he was still waiting for the awkward little conversation to confirm it.

Watching Sasuke's painfully beautiful face covered with soft dappled light as the sun began to rise higher in the sky, and silken bangs strewn haphazardly over his cheeks and jaw, Naruto felt his chest bubble and warm with a great renewal of affection.

Walking towards his mate, Naruto decided to put the cat out of his misery.

* * *

Sasuke wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, to be honest, when he was disturbed from the land of cool dreams by some moron poking him repeatedly in the cheek.

At first, he tried to ignore it, unwilling to yield to what obviously had to be Naruto being an annoying idiot again.

But the pokes didn't stop, and the repetition was starting to make his cheek ache, so with more than mild irritation, the cat opened one cranky eye.

His vision was assaulted by blond hair and blue eyes, confirming that it was, indeed, Naruto. He was ready to spit out a nasty remark for interrupting his precious sleep time, but something about Naruto stopped him.

The blond was crouching over his form, one arm wrapped around his knees, while the other continued its poking, as if he hadn't noticed that Sasuke had awoke, or simply didn't care. The strangest thing was the expression on Naruto's face, which normally so animated, was drawn in a strange blankness tinged with something like curiosity. With large, near glowing blue eyes staring at him, Sasuke just knew that something wasn't right with his dobe.

"What do you want?"

Still didn't stop his grumpiness from being woken up so rudely to completely dissipating though...

Naruto finally stopped poking him, and instead turned to look at his face with an expression of muted surprise. The blond withdrew the outstretched arm, and tucked it under his chest with the other one.

He didn't say a word for a moment as he peered down at him intently, and Sasuke felt himself begin to wake up properly at Naruto's increasingly uncharacteristic behaviour, and he started to sit up.

Nothing could have prepared him, or made him expect the next words that would come out of that mouth. And for a good few seconds, Sasuke didn't think he'd actually heard them at all.

"I think I'm pregnant."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, still not blinking as much as any normal person should, and watched as a strange blankness completely covered his mate's face.

Sasuke's mind ground to a halt.

He was well aware that it had been a good three months since they had mated in the throes of heat together, and he knew that by this time he and Naruto would share the look of 'not this time' and the gauche conversation to affirm it.

He'd been wondering when it would come, as Naruto hadn't said anything yet- not even spared a look. He'd thought that his blond mate was just depressed that it hadn't happened once again, and so couldn't bring himself to say it to him. Sasuke had accepted this sign-less explanation, feeling more than a little discouraged himself, despite knowing that they were still very young, and being a bit ridiculous to be hoping so early.

He had, however, noticed Naruto's sometimes very peculiar behaviour, but attributed that to his little theory of Naruto's melancholy as well. And he had not wanted to risk bringing up the subject with a potentially sensitive Naruto.

He hadn't seen any signs of morning sickness or the like, and Naruto hadn't begun to smell any different either (though it was difficult to properly identify more delicate scents in such a confused location) and so he'd dismissed them.

As such, he was very much unprepared and caught off guard when his mate thusly told him he might carrying their child.

Sasuke blinked rapidly on the outside, and Naruto watched him peaceably, showing unprecedented patience as he waited for the cat to respond.

Cranks were slowly clanking into gear inside the Uchiha's head, and once they got going, they started to move at lightning speed.

Naruto thought he was pregnant.

_Naruto _thought he was _pregnant._

As in, _having a baby._

_Their baby._

_..._

_Thought._

Naruto watched with expectation as the blankness on Sasuke's face was replaced by a flash of white hot anger.

He didn't bother to be surprised as tight, grasping hands shot out and clutched his arms tightly, nor as he was pulled to his feet.

"_Since when."_

Naruto sighed at the demand, and felt his own irritation start to bubble up, despite his attempts to maintain his serene expression.

He let his eyes fall to the side, and when he didn't answer immediately, he felt Sasuke shake him- not as hard as he usually would, but with a restrained amount of force in his arms nonetheless.

Feeling hot and annoyed too all of a sudden, Naruto squirmed to get free; to get some space between them.

Sasuke didn't relent, and Naruto suddenly felt the last drops of his patience evaporate into thin air.

"I've been feeling a bit off for weeks, okay?!"

Sasuke growled at him.

"No, _not_ okay! Why didn't you tell me the first time you felt something!?"

Naruto, with a surge of anger, finally ripped himself free, and stumbled back a few steps to get a platform for the match that was about to start. Naruto knew Sasuke was only acting out in anger because this meant so much to him, and he didn't like things that were so important to be played around with. He'd tried to placate him by not setting him off, but he was cranky, irritable, and right now Sasuke was working the fecking piss out of him!

Another mood swing to add to the list, it seemed.

Though Naruto didn't feel like acknowledging that right now.

"It's been ages since our heat, and you only tell me _now_? And what makes you so sure, Naruto? I don't like these things joked about with!"

Naruto gaped in hurt and rage.

"_Oh!_ Well _excuse me_ for wanting to make sure there was something to actually tell you about! I was only thinking of your feelings bastard, and when I tell you about it, you act like _this!?" _

Sasuke snarled through his rant, black eyes gleaming and shining like polished gems; cold and hard.

Naruto continued to spit out words, raising his arms to pull and tear at his hair in frustration.

He hadn't thought Sasuke would explode this much- or him for that matter.

"And because I was thinking of _your_ feelings, I waited until I was sure of what was going on, you selfish, ungrateful _prick!_ I've been having morning sickness, and cravings and even my fucking nipples!"

Naruto's chest was ballooning like a bullfrog, his voice near hysterical at the end as he screamed out.

"You're the one who hadn't seem to have noticed anything, you cold frigid bastard!"

The anger was starting to give way to hurt.

Sasuke snapped back, voice lower but honed to perfection as he seethed.

"Don't think I didn't notice anything! I was just waiting for _you_ to come to _me!"_

Naruto just squeezed his eyes shut; hands entwined in his hair and shook his head from side to side vigorously.

Both said nothing more after that, their tiny camp filled with both their deep ragged breaths as they caught their breaths, their yells echoing silently between them.

Another time, they might have laughed at themselves.

A couple of tears, born from pure frustration crept out of Naruto's tightly clenched eyes as he tried to calm down, asking himself why he felt so defensive in the first place.

He collapsed on the still cool grass of the early morning and huffed. Silence reigned heavy and thick for a good few minutes longer, and Naruto didn't bother to see what Sasuke was doing.

He only opened his eyes again when he felt Sasuke linger, still standing, near to him. His presence didn't feel angry anymore, and when Naruto finally looked up to meet gazes with him, there was no way he could be angry at the Uchiha.

Sasuke had such an...open look on his face. It was unusual for him to let other people see just how big his eyes actually were. At times like this, with his face so open and vulnerable, and eyes so big and glassy, Naruto almost felt he was looking at a child; the child Sasuke had once been, could have been.

Sasuke bit his lip, large eyes darting around Naruto's face, before he finally asked in a small voice.

"Do you..." he licked his lips and glanced away just for a moment, "Do you really think you're pregnant?"

The air was awkward, but Naruto couldn't help but let a small smile grace his lips, and Sasuke took this as his cue to sit down beside the fox, letting their knees brush.

Naruto noticed that Sasuke's expression was going back to a more normal one, but it was still somewhat earnest, and it was enough that he'd been able to see just how much this meant to the dark cat.

No apology was needed to pass between him.

It hadn't even been a fight really, Naruto mused quickly, more of a spark of frustration, and not at each other.

Not really.

"I can't be entirely sure, but if I'm not, then something else had gotta be wrong with me," joked Naruto, trying to get Sasuke to lighten a little.

The cat smiled weakly, not appreciating it very much, and Naruto could tell how nervous and on edge his mate was by the slight trembles in the finely crafted pale hands- in anyone else, they surely would have been wringing them.

"We can't presume anything- give me a full list of things you've been experiencing."

Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek, and answered slowly.

"Nausea, craving meat-sometimes at the same time- that's weird! Uh...I've been really tired lately-"

"I noticed that one."

"Shut up. I guess I've been kinda moody lately....and a bit broody again too," muttered Naruto, rolling his eyes to the heavens as he leant back on his elbows.

"Anything else?" asked Sasuke, sounding antsy. Naruto couldn't help but smile inwardly.

Before remembering what he'd done just a little while ago.

"Oh, and...umm...."

"What?" questioned Sasuke impatiently, starting at him with piercing eyes. The Uchiha became all the more curious at the bright red flush that came upon his mate's face.

He watched raptly as Naruto idly scratched his cheek, determinedly not looking at him.

"And, you know, my nipples have been getting really sore lately- that's a pretty big sign, isn't it?"

Naruto looked positively mortified, and Sasuke blinked, not quite understanding what was so embarrassing, considering all the sex they'd had over the years, but he smirked anyway, trying to cover up just how shaken and jumpy he was with the familiar visage.

Naruto didn't seem to notice it.

"But, I mean, we probably have to go...find a test or something right? To make sure?"

Sasuke nodded jerkily.

"Yes, to find out if you really...."

He tailed off and Naruto let him.

"So, we should get going then?" asked Naruto, starting to worry about his mate as he watched Sasuke stare at nothingness.

Maybe he broke him?

"....Ah, yes. Of course. The sooner the better," the cat finally muttered to himself, and as he pushed himself up to gather their meagre belongings, Naruto had to marvel at how unsteady the Uchiha suddenly seemed to be.

It seemed that the shock was wearing off, and the truth starting to set in.

Sasuke fumbled to hitch the full bag over his shoulder, not his usual cool self at all.

It almost made him want to giggle.

* * *

Naruto sat on the ground beside a tree, foot jerking and knee twitching as he impatiently waited for Sasuke to hurry back.

As soon as they'd collected their meagre amount of belongings, they'd set off right away to the little seaside town, who's only subject of note was the new wharfs and investment-funded shiny new harbour.

It was mid-morning by the time they'd arrived, and they'd perched on the edge of the village, looking in from the tree line. Naruto thought it was a quirky sort of place.

The money from the cities was obvious in the fresh, light wooded jetties, and the one single long metal rod that projected into the curved harbour like a pin into a cushion, where the largest ships, made of rusting, creaking metal and larger than buildings, docked.

Past the quayside, it was less obvious; there were a couple of shops that stood out, shiny clean glass and bright lights creating an airy feel, and with automatic doors. But right beside them were traditional housing, made of sagging dark timbers, riddled with grains and cracks seeped with rainwater. And in front of them were roads made of nothing but dirt, with water and salt holding them together.

The contrast was almost blinding; Naruto had never seen it so clearly before.

He'd seen country villages, and gleaming shiny cities, but never both together.

However, this mismatched clash would prove useful to them, as Sasuke pointed out to one of the out-of-place shops that served as a convenience store. According to Sasuke they would sell all sorts of things.

Including pregnancy tests, Naruto had asked sceptically, to which Sasuke had at least looked somewhat doubtful himself. He watched as his mate's dark eyes roved the pitiful options they were left with.

Finally, irritated, Sasuke had replied that convenience stores in the country often had bigger pharmacy departments as doctors and hospitals were far between, and were of the most use to the surrounding population.

Naruto had glanced towards the admittedly rather small shop, not much assured, but decided to leave Sasuke to it.

The Uchiha was looking more annoyed by the minute, and Naruto decided he could wait, as long as he didn't have to deal with that ticking time bomb in return.

As a result, Sasuke had shepherded him back a far ways into the surrounding forest and left him, saying he'd be back within the hour.

Unfortunately, Naruto didn't have a watch or clock to keep the time, and all he knew right now was that Sasuke seemed to have been gone for a veeerrryy long time, and he wasn't sure just how much longer he could sit here and wait.

Naruto sighed irritably, continuing to let his foot jerk, in a vain attempt to exercise out his frustration.

He'd never been good at waiting; especially when he had absolutely nothing to entertain himself with, unless you counted counting leaves, and it wasn't at all helped by the fact he needed to pee- really badly.

But he didn't dare go relieve himself, 'cause he just _knew, _as soon as he came back, Sasuke would be waiting and then he'd have to wait even longer so he could piss on the thing, but with an agitated Sasuke to boot.

It was a tough call, but Naruto was pretty sure he chose the lesser evil.

Still, he'd been telling himself 'any-minute-now' for quite a while by now, and Sasuke the bastard still hadn't shown up yet.

Surely, it couldn't take this long!

And his bladder was starting to physically hurt.

Holding back a whimper, Naruto tried to both calm and distract himself with the many ways he could brutally murder his mate.

When he was just imagining how much damage he could do with a pit full of super heated metal toothpicks, Sasuke strode into the clearing.

And Naruto only noticed when the cat purposefully stood on a branch.

Darting his head up, Naruto instantly forgot what he'd been previously thinking, a belly full of nervous butterflies taking its place.

Sasuke had a bright white paper bag clutched in one hand, and a stony expression on his face, eyes completely blank.

With a single, jerky movement he threw the bag at the sitting blond.

Naruto knew that to anyone who didn't understand Sasuke, they would think of how cold he was, and uncaring- disinterested.

But Naruto knew that Sasuke was trying his best not to think of anything at all. The journey to this morning had been silent, but not due to furious thinking on either of their parts.

That sort of thing could come later- right now they were both suspended in motion, their lives at a halt until they knew which path they were taking. Then they could over think themselves as much as they wanted.

But right now, Naruto had been pointedly trying to think of nothing at all, not wanting to get carried away on either option, and Naruto was sure that Sasuke was trying to do the same thing, so he could keep his cool.

Naruto licked his dry lips and stared down at the little paper bag, contemplating whether he should ask something silly like whether he found it alright.

He didn't bother, confident that Sasuke would snap if he did, like a rubber band stretched well beyond its limits.

It would be quite cute, if Naruto didn't feel the same way.

So instead, he simply sprang to his feet and fumbled a rectangular box out of the bag. He let the wrapping fall to the floor, and he glanced to Sasuke, who was looking at him with a small amount of expectancy on his face- nothing else.

Naruto gave him a sharp nod, though it could have meant anything and turned around to find a concealing enough tree.

His steps felt heavy, and his stomach felt very sick indeed now- even the butterflies seemed nauseas. He blinked rapidly, as he became light headed, feeling very hot and for a moment he thought he'd fall over for sure.

The thick cardboard of the box felt heavy in his hand.

Naruto staggered the last few steps to a private enough place, feeling like he'd walked a marathon, though in truth he was only a few yards away from Sasuke.

The sickness in his stomach didn't fade, and for a moment he was sure he'd actually throw up for real. Scared to prolong this anymore, Naruto hurriedly fumbled the thing out of the box, trying to frantically undo his zipper at the same time.

He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible- no interruptions.

He nearly dropped everything, his fingers numb, but he managed it.

Even he could piss on a stick, thank you very much.

Feeling mildly disgusted, he held the thing by the tip as he wandered back into the clearing, squished box crunched in his other hand.

Sasuke immediately darted his head up, and the look in his eyes was so raw, Naruto couldn't speak for a moment.

He frantically attempted to unglue his mouth before the fire could die out in those eyes.

Any chance of not setting themselves up for a fall was long gone.

"Needs another two minutes," he croakily managed, waving the hand holding the box listlessly.

Sasuke nodded, eyes darkened once again, returning his gaze to the floor.

Naruto was sure he'd never lived through a more tense two minutes.

He felt like he was suffocating, and from the way Sasuke's hunched shoulders would bunch randomly, he knew he wasn't alone in that.

He felt the world tunnelling in and out of focus, and a menagerie of what-ifs broke through his defence at the last.

He desperately wanted to ask Sasuke, try to discuss this with him. To find some reassurance that this would all be okay, that- that....

"It's been more than two minutes..."

Sasuke's gruff voice startled him, and he nearly dropped both items in his hands.

He stared at Sasuke with large, unseeing eyes, before he registered, and without any preamble, flipped the test over in his hand.

He stared at the lines, and it took several seconds for Naruto to realise he didn't know what they meant. Panic seized him at last, and he nearly ripped the flattened box in two as he tried to find his answer.

When the blond went rigid, staring at the cardboard lifelessly, Sasuke couldn't hold back the urge any longer and was instantly at his side, fumbling for tan hands.

"Naruto...?"

The blond shook a little, but didn't turn to him. Agonised, Sasuke finally reached out a pale hand to gently grab at Naruto's chin and turn his face towards him.

Blue eyes were wet, and as tears streamed down from his eyes Sasuke thought the worst, and felt his own eyes sting, unbidden.

"Naruto?" he whispered softly, not knowing what he was asking, or if he was asking anything at all. He was left dangling above a dark pit.

Naruto's lips and jaw twitched, and Sasuke didn't recognise it for a few moments. Naruto's mouth was open, but he was smiling- tentatively- dazedly.

Sasuke searched Naruto's gaze desperately, bemused for an answer.

"We're having a baby..."

Sasuke's stomach contracted fiercely, as his heart stopped.

"What?"

Naruto was grinning, though he seemed just as shocked.

"We're having a baby!"

The words were so quiet, but not hesitant, and Naruto threw his arms up around Sasuke's neck, burrowing his face into the crook, pressing their bodies completely together.

Sasuke felt his heart start again with such a thump; he thought he might be having a heart attack.

"We're having a baby," said Sasuke, a little louder than Naruto, sounding dazed, but increasingly jubilant.

"We're having a baby!" Sasuke practically shouted, and Naruto, eyes still streaming, mouth grinning and fecking _glowing_ nodded frantically,catching Sasuke's gaze with a heady laugh.

Sasuke stared at Naruto in wonder a moment, until what could only be described as joyful laughter bubbled up from the throat of the usually very serious cat.

Sasuke clutched Naruto to him desperately, squeezing him tightly unable to contain himself.

Sasuke looked at Naruto with such an intense, emotion filled, loving happy gaze that Naruto felt a few more tears slip out. And then Sasuke was kissing him, hard and deep, and Naruto pushed back as hard and fierce as he possibly could, as if they could meld their bodies together.

It was hard and hot and passionate, full of love and every aching sentiment they felt for each other, but it wasn't erotic, and they had to pull back for air, both thrumming with too much energy of elation to know what to do.

Naruto honest to god giggled, as Sasuke spun him round a couple of times, clutching his waist so tightly he thought he might rip in two.

"Fuck, I love you so much," Sasuke whispered brokenly as he pressed their foreheads together, their noses rubbing against one another.

His eyes were overflowing, and his throat was so tight and dry that Naruto could only manage a breathy "D-di-ditto," back to him.

Sasuke gave a rather wet laugh at this, and hugged him even tighter to him. They began to sway a little bit, bathing together, before the inevitable happened and they both crashed to the ground, Sasuke making sure that he hit the ground first, letting Naruto fall on top of him as a cushion.

Sasuke wasn't going to let anything happen to Naruto.

Not now.

Not ever.

The blond giggled from where he lay, giddy as anything, and he happily let Sasuke move him around like a doll.

"I can't believe it- you're pregnant. You're pregnant," murmured Sasuke breathlessly into the soft golden hair that lay at Naruto's nape.

Naruto twisted his head to look at him, smiling wider than Sasuke had ever seen, and he felt a smaller tan hand reach out and grasp his own tightly.

"Yeah- I'm pregnant."

Naruto wasn't sure if he could even breathe properly, but when Sasuke smiled softly in return, so sweetly and so warm, he was so very beautiful that Naruto wanted to start crying again.

Not that he'd really stopped; but he didn't care- you could cry as much as you want when you're happy.

Naruto squeezed the hand in his as hard as he could, and Sasuke stared at him a moment before changing his gaze. Following it, Naruto found it resting on his stomach.

Oh.

Yes.

Before Naruto could do anything else, pale hands were already scrambling to pull apart his yukata. His face flushed as from the waist up, tan skin was revealed to Sasuke's roving eyes.

Sasuke planted light, little kisses on his mate's neck as he stared down to where he now knew his child lay.

Their child.

He let his hands rest on the lower part of Naruto's abdomen, as if testing to find a bulge, or some sign.

"It's still so flat," he said softly. Naruto let his own hands slide down to join Sasuke's.

"For now," murmured Naruto, suddenly feeling a little forlorn.

He groaned, and Sasuke quirked an eyebrow in question, though his black eyes were still swimming with feeling.

"I'm gonna get fat," the blond moaned, though it wasn't really a complaint.

Sasuke chuckled and pressed another wet kiss to Naruto's neck.

They stayed in that position a long time, letting the shock fade to leave contentment behind.

Naruto, exhausted by both the emotional upheaval, and the little one growing inside him, soon feel asleep in the balmy hot weather, and to the lull of Sasuke's loud, blissful purring.

* * *

Sasuke was somewhat shocked when he realised that he was waking up; he'd never noticed that he'd fallen asleep in the first place. He blinked a few times, for a moment wanting to believe that he'd just closed his eyes for a few moments, but the sky had darkened, showing it to be late afternoon.

The cat blinked once more, eyes adjusting to the steadily fading light. He tensed his arms up, only to find that Naruto still lay in his arms, dead to the world and almost in the exact same position Sasuke had last seen him.

This was a mildly unusual occurrence, considering that Naruto had a most vexing habit of moving more while asleep than awake.

Hell, they'd even gotten halfway through sex one time, before Sasuke realised that Naruto was still officially unconscious.

But Sasuke quickly eased any worry he had for the blond. Naruto had been so tired recently, and the emotional upheaval of the day must have tired him out even more.

Sasuke felt a little smile grace his lips, unbidden, as he gently shifted the softly snoring fox to a more comfortable position, so he could get some blood flow back into his numb thighs.

He couldn't help from taking a lock of silken golden hair, rubbing it between two of his fingers, quite content to let Naruto continue to sleep away peacefully.

The little blond most certainly needed it.

That brought Sasuke a strangely giddy, light feeling to his chest, which was distinctly unfamiliar to him. He'd known he'd been happy before, but this was a strange sort of daze for him that was unparalleled to any before it; it was most definitely a very different sort of emotion.

He was going to be a father.

Not only would he have a true family once again, but this time, he would be the dad.

He'd have a little person adoring him just because.

A little person that was not only related to him, but what came _from_ him too.

And given birth by his most beautiful Naruto.

Soft purring once again filled the secluded clearing.

A strong surge of warm, budding paternal feeling filled his chest.

At the moment it didn't really feel very daunting.

Sasuke couldn't help thinking about his own family however; his father and mother and brother.

He'd always known that he didn't want to take his own father as a model of parenting. He could still recall that as a small child he'd often been snubbed in favour of Itachi, and not even the martyrdom of death could make Sasuke feel completely reconciled with his sire over the matter, and he was determined never to favour one of his own children over another.

Sasuke wasn't too worried he'd take the same route as his father. After all, he found it hard to imagine his father being so thrilled to learn he was going to have a child, as he himself currently was.

So naturally, they simply couldn't be the same sort of person.

Still, Sasuke mused, letting his tail flick back and forth slowly, he didn't know much about being a parent- a good one anyways. Actual physical babies were pretty foreign to him.

But, of course, being Uchiha Sasuke, he was sure he'd learn quickly enough.

Not to mention, as he glanced down at Naruto, he wasn't doing this alone.

But, that was for the future- it would be many months until the baby was born, and for now Sasuke had to concentrate on taking care of his pregnant mate.

For even humans found pregnancy difficult, and youkai ones were even harder.

It took a hell of a lot to bring a baby demon into the world, and conceiving one was just the start. Naruto may be generally not too affected yet, but the baby was so small at the moment.

The cat's dark eyes trailed over the smooth, flat expanse of Naruto's stomach.

Naruto would become very vulnerable very quickly, as the child within commandeered most of his chakra, his energy and his attention.

Naruto would need Sasuke to protect him now, whether he liked it or not, and Sasuke was more than willing to step up to the challenge.

His brow furrowed as he thought furiously.

A baby on the way would mean several changes to his plans, and a certain degree of unavoidable chance.

Chance was not something he wanted near his family.

Naruto would need to be both well protected and provided for.

First of all, he couldn't keep them wandering around the countryside like they had been, but that was fine- after this they were going back to the city, and Sasuke had already planned to stay there this time.

The dark cat mused silently in his thoughts, clutching his mate in a gentle, but firm hold, busy plotting away for his growing family's future.

It would be somewhat difficult, but to him, family was the most precious thing he had, and he'd do his all.

It probably wouldn't truly hit Sasuke the true weight of being someone's father until the baby was actually born, but he at least knew his responsibilities and would step up to them.

There was some hope for the Uchiha youkai.

First things first, the cat thought, was this last 'mission' before they would travel to Tokyo.

Sasuke knew for a fact, that he couldn't let Naruto come with him.

And that would indeed pose problems.

Sasuke sighed out loud, once again shifting to get comfortable.

He could recall the last time he'd tried to completely control every aspect of his mate's life, and it hadn't ended prettily.

Stupid dobe didn't know what was good for him.

Sasuke scowled and briefly entertained the hope that Naruto, as the most surprising person he knew, would suddenly bend to his will, in a very helpful hormone-induced mood swing.

...

Sasuke's eye twitched at the impossible scenario and he stifled an irritable grunt.

But this time, he was determined to get his way.

Hard, burning eyes of onyx scowled into the rapidly fading light, while Naruto slept sweetly oblivious to his mate's devious plans.

* * *

**A/N: See? Cuteness! And quite exciting to see how this is going to affect things, right? Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to give feedback or to ask anything.**

**Next chapter, Naruto and Sasuke clash a little, and Iruka and Kakashi should show up once more! Now, if you excuse me, I need to do some serious last minute packing!**

* * *


	4. Home Is Where the Heart Is

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**A/N: Who's back? Yes, me! Now, i know you all want to kill me, and i am very sorry for such a horrendous wait- i never thought i would ever become one of these people! I admit that the first few weeks of uni, i didnt write at all, but i am serious in saying i have been writing this chapter since the start of November. I had hoped to get it up by christmas, but then i got ill so... And whoever said uni was all play and no work should be killed. They obviously never did a science degree. However, i am going to put a great effort into writing faster- i have so much i want to share. So, i hope you can enjoy this much belated chapter- which even in the last few minutes of uplaod has proved a struggle. What is up with ? I had to export a previous chapter to get this baby up. Bah! That said, here we go.**

**Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to my beta, for many things :)**

**Warnings: _LEMON! oF THE KAKAIRU KIND. _If you do not wish to read, don't read! Or just skip that bit- its gets pretty obvious- HOT NIGHT. Oh, and swearing, and Yaoi and fluff..**

* * *

_**Home Is Where The Heart Is**_

Night had truly fallen by the time Sasuke managed to free himself from his deep musing's, and he was forced to stir from his vague bliss.

If he was going to meet this contact, then he would have to leave now. His tail flicked sharply into the air as he stared down at Naruto's still-sleeping face. The blonde's mouth was slightly open, and a small trail of drool was seeping down, and he had a small little crease of lines between his eyebrows which would twitch every so often.

Sasuke frowned, as his hold tightened imperceptibly on his mate.

Naruto was dead asleep, and Sasuke was well tempted not to wake him- Naruto needed his rest, and when unconscious, he couldn't make a fuss about being disallowed to accompany him.

On the other hand though, Sasuke wouldn't feel right just leaving him there in the middle of the forest, all by himself. Not only would the blond be out for the count, but he also didn't want the blond to wake up while he was gone, and possibly become confused and worried to find his mate 'missing'.

Even worse, Naruto could get angry instead, and try to find him.

Sasuke restrained a sigh as imagination began to run riot on all the horrible possibilities that could happen to his dear idiot, and he resigned himself to waking the contrary fox up.

It took several pokes, of increasing intensity, for blue eyes, dark with sleep, to crack open.

Naruto looked around blearily for a few moments, and Sasuke felt a renewed bout of remorse for waking him, until the blind focussed on Sasuke and gave him a rare, very soft smile.

He felt his heart thump heavily once more, and Sasuke was sure he was developing a serious problem.

"Hey," whispered Naruto, voice thick and husky as he stirred and sat up, letting Sasuke's arms fall to pool around his waist.

"Hey", muttered back Sasuke just as softly, covertly pressing his lips against the tan skin of his temple as Naruto yawned obliviously.

"Was' the matter?" slurred Naruto, stretching his spine.

Sasuke inwardly braced himself.

"It's time to go meet our contact."

Sasuke cursed himself for being ambiguous as Naruto dully nodded and pushed himself up to standing in a lazy manner, still only half awake. Sasuke jumped to stand up as well, his tenseness a great contrast to Naruto's lethargic stance.

Sasuke stared at Naruto from under his lashes, watching as he slowly came to awareness as the cat said nothing. He watched as the blonde's brow creased in slight annoyance and he inwardly winced.

Silence stretched between them strangely.

"Well, where is it?" Naruto asked annoyed, rubbing one eye when it became clear that Sasuke wouldn't act without prompting.

Oddly, Sasuke didn't respond to his question, and as the long seconds ticked by, he began to feel a strange apprehension. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke properly, and his wariness grew. With squinted eyes, he could clearly see that the Uchiha was being suspicious.

"What?" Naruto growled out. He was feeling irritatingly hot all of a sudden, despite the cool night air licking at his bare arms, and irrationally tetchy, in a really quite uncomfortable, itchy way.

He would later realise it was likely because of the baby causing an influx of multiple hormones through his system.

But for now, he just knew he didn't want Sasuke being suspicious.

Sasuke pursed his lips together tightly when Naruto began to glare at him, for really no _real_ reason, and he put his best blank-do-as-I-say face on. Naruto tended to ignore it, but it made him feel better.

"I'll be going to meet this Dosu-san, you'll be staying here," he commanded in his best monotone, steeling himself to tie the stupid fox up if he had to. He'd bent on things for Naruto before, but this was not something that he was going to compromise on.

Blue eyes narrowed to slits, and Sasuke could feel the hostility, but unlike years ago, Naruto did not shout and demand whys and question him. He'd learnt another way to deal with this.

"So, _where is it?"_

Which was to completely ignore it and storm his way through regardless. His stubbornness usually got him through it.

Not this time though.

Sasuke was an Uchiha on a mission.

And that mission was to make Naruto understand that he couldn't do whatever he wanted to anymore.

"Naruto," said Sasuke sternly, hoping that Naruto would understand that he really meant it this time.

He was trying not to make this into a fight, as Naruto would then go against anything he said on mere principle.

"Sasuke," mocked Naruto back.

This was....an argument.

"Naruto," snapped Sasuke, "I'm serious, and don't you pretend you don't know what I mean."

The blond made a disgruntled sound, and did seem a little caught off guard, but rallied with a jeer.

"I'm not an invalid Sasuke! This isn't even dangerous, you're being ridiculous!"

Their voices were low hisses, sharp words meant to cut through the other's opinion like threads.

"You don't know that- you are well aware that this could be a trap, and normally, we would be prepared and go on ahead anyway, but you _can't _do that anymore Naruto. You just- _can't. _Don't be selfish about this!"

The last seemed to hit a nerve.

"Selfish?! I'm hardly being selfish. I don't- I can't. I won't let you see me as some...weakling that you need to coddle! I've managed to stop you doing this before, it's no different now! You're the one being selfish here!"

They both glared, both feeling the argument as one that was old and stale.

When they'd first left the city, newly mated and still so young, Sasuke had done his very best to keep Naruto out of danger. He felt it was his responsibility; that was what the husband did, wasn't it? And Naruto, who'd lived a life of independency for a lot longer than Sasuke, and was remembering it well now that he was back in his 'element' was more than displeased.

It felt to him that Sasuke didn't respect him, didn't see him as a person capable to think and do things for himself, that he could not be trusted.

Sasuke was confused at first by Naruto acting out against his protection, and as a result, had only tried to tighten his hold on the blond even more.

It was a horrible clash; Sasuke with limited ideas of what it meant to be married to someone, about how to actually go about it as his experience had been restricted to that of his own parents, who in his memory were very direct about these things. And Naruto, who despite everything, was still a _man,_ and one who greatly valued his own self worth (it'd taken a long time to build), which he felt Sasuke was distinctly undermining.

They'd eventually had a big blowout over it, but it actually took a couple of years for them to sort it out and fall into a routine both accepted. There had been a lot of these in the first few years; the love was always strong, but the relationship clumsy. Such was to be expected when young people jump quickly with little experience.

Not that either regretted mating so early, but it did come with its drawbacks.

They'd come all the stronger on the other side, but now a very old argument was back again, only with new medium.

And in his irrationally bad mood, Naruto was likely to do something stupid.

Sasuke chewed on the words exchanged bitterly for a few moments, before backing down his hackles.

This needed to be talked about, not argued.

He took a few steps towards Naruto, feeling weary, and gently grabbed his limp hands.

Naruto stared at him in surprise, but didn't immediately try to get a word in.

"Look Naruto, I know you can look after yourself, okay? I _know,_" he added as he saw Naruto open his mouth to interrupt, "you can get stabbed, lose buckets of blood, smash bones to bits, and still be able to recover perfectly."

Sasuke breathed deep, and made sure to lock those blue eyes with his own.

"You can survive those things fine, but you've got to think- the baby can't."

Naruto gripped Sasuke's hands in his own, squeezing. Sasuke squeezed back and carried on in a soft voice.

"It's so small, and delicate, and little; it's going to need us to protect it for years and years, and right now it's growing inside you, when it's most weak. If something bad happens to you, something bad happens to the baby- something you can survive fine, it might not. You understand that right?"

Any anger had disappeared, and instead Naruto just looked downright miserable, tears leaking in the corner's of his eyes. His mood had obviously swung again.

He turned his head away, but still whispered a scratchy,

"Yeah, I know."

The thought of losing the baby...

Sasuke turned his grip into a full out hug, letting a drained Naruto rest his head on his shoulder.

"...I was thinking selfishly, wasn't I? It's not really a big deal, and I already know that I'm not even going to be at full strength anymore- and that's its only going to get worse..."

The soft whispers were drowned somewhat by Sasuke's shirt front, but the cat heard them all anyway.

"You weren't being selfish Naruto," he sighed, adjusting his hold so he could look the blond in the face, "You're just used to being able to throw your weight around however you want. Dobe."

He gave Naruto a soft knock on the cheek with his knuckles and knew things were good again when Naruto scowled back at him on reflex.

"Still," muttered Naruto, pulling back and suddenly feeling embarrassed, "it sucks that I have to stay here bored, while you get all the fun."

Knowing that this was as good as Naruto admitting he was right (something Naruto hated to do on fear that his dear mate's ego might explode), Sasuke allowed a secretly smug smile adorn his face.

"I'll be sure to make it up to you later," he said amused, more than satisfied with his success at reasoning with Naruto.

The time was growing short however, and he really did need to go.

He took a few steps back, making his intention to leave known.

He levelled Naruto a sharp look.

"You- stay here. No following, no leaving and no getting attacked by mysterious foes while I'm gone, got it?"

His tone much lighter than before, Naruto fed off it and nodded seriously, though his eyes were gleaming as he stood unnaturally still where he stood.

"Good."

Sasuke nodded and turned to leave, but only managed a few steps before Naruto called out to him.

"Sasuke!"

The cat turned over his shoulder, an eye brow raised as he saw Naruto stare determinedly away from him, cheeks flushed a little, and scratching his cheek idly.

"Just...you know...don't do anything stupid. 'Coz I'm not there. Or something."

Sasuke blinked, before smirking.

"I'll be careful," he drawled teasingly before disappearing through the darkness of the trees.

He didn't have to hear to know that Naruto cursed at his back.

As it turned out, the fuss had all been about nothing; no insidious plot was sprung, and Dosu had no information of real value that Sasuke didn't already know.

Usually, Sasuke would have been hissing mad about the months of wasted trip, and been in a bad mood for days after wasting his precious time all for nothing. However, with things as they were, Sasuke was merely glad no more drama kicked up, and that he and Naruto could go straight back to Tokyo.

Though that again, would take a few weeks; Sasuke was hesitant to make Naruto walk so far, but rides were few and far between; he'd have to amend the time period for them to arrive back in the city to mid way through August.

An extra six weeks, but at least they would get to see Iruka and Kakashi before the summer holiday season was over.

Sasuke would repeat a much loved phrase of an old friend.

"Troublesome."

* * *

It was a hot night.

It had been scorching through the entire day; another one in a long line, the heat wave giving no indication of easing.

Windows had been thrown open, to tempt a non-existent breeze, and fans had been going non-stop ever since the air conditioning broke down.

The plants were wilting in their sills, desperate for a drop of rain after two weeks of nothing but clear skies and blazing blue.

The air was stiff and suffocating, and the onset of night brought no relief, even as a blue, gibbous moon hung low in the sky.

In one apartment, a relatively cosy suite on the fifth floor, the heat showed no sign of abating. But to the two occupants, the weather was the last things on their minds, sweat slowly rolling down their bodies due to a much different cause.

The window in the bedroom was thrown open like all the others, but the thin white gossamer curtains fluttered in the updrafts on the edges.

Blue light fell in through the hole, landing in thick stripes across a bare, pale back, illuminating the skin as it bulged and flexed, undulating with strong, deliberate movement.

It also cast a shadow on a pair of hands, tan in colour, that were clenched white as they gripped the white bed sheets tightly.

"Ah!"

Iruka threw his head back and cried out feebly as Kakashi drove home inside him once more with that steady, poignant rhythm. Legs trembling against the stimulation, he managed to wrap his legs around the man's waist, hooking his ankles on the other side, drawing their bodies even closer together.

With every thrust, he could feel Kakashi's chest slide against his own, slickened with sweat, and hot; boiling hot. A searing mouth was suckling on his neck, silver grey hair smashed against his cheek as Kakashi buried his head in the crook of his neck.

"Uh..."

Iruka tired to keep his eyes open, unaware of the deep dark chocolate colour they presented in his aroused state, and gently pushed back into Kakashi's body, desperate to feel that warm, familiar heat, to feel the wild heart beat that mirrored his own.

Large hands crept up to his shoulders, and Iruka had to bit his lip to retain the whimper that bubbled up in his throat when the throbbing length inside of him pressed hard against his prostate, sending white flashes through both his body and his mind.

There was no teasing chuckle from above him as usual, but instead Kakashi only sucked a little harder on the skin he had taken hostage with his tongue, and Iruka resigned his aching heart to one of _those _nights.

The nights that made Iruka remember just what wrong he did to this man; one he loved so very much.

Nights when Kakashi made love to him.

Iruka couldn't contain his whimper this time, as the pleasure ground up to a new level, and in order to stop himself ripping the sheets in his hands, he removed them; placing them instead on the pale, yet sizzling back of his lover.

He pressed hard, letting his palms rub deep into the skin, up against the shoulder blades, moving in time to the rhythm of their movements.

They were moving completely in sync, and despite the burn in his belly, Iruka made no move to try to speed up their coupling, letting Kakashi sweetly torture him with the slow yet hard pace.

It ached, and burned, and filled Iruka with such energy as Kakashi impaled with an unspoken tenderness; every move was thought of, enriched with pure feeling, as he held himself back, and melded their bodies together.

They were joined at every point, and easily moved as one being, instead of two.

Iruka felt a tremble in Kakashi's back, that resonated throughout his entire frame, and squeezed his eyes shut as another wave enveloped him.

He tightened his thighs around Kakashi's body, pulling him ever closer, so tight it was almost painful.

Kakashi bit down on the flesh in his mouth, nibbling with such tenacity, yet not allowing a single drop of blood to spill from the fragile neck. He gave slow, languid little kisses to the area around his chosen spot, but always returned to that one place, worshipping it with his lips.

The spot where Kakashi had marked him, a very long time ago.

He could still remember the pain, the piercing raw agony from Kakashi's jaws.

Being human, he had received no pleasure from it, but once healed, it still represented the bond between them, and had become a favoured spot to the both of them.

But right now, Iruka quivered like a leaf underneath his lover, gripping as tightly as possible onto his body, pressing up against him to relieve the pain as Kakashi bit down once more and gave a harder thrust into him.

Not his own pain, but Kakashi's.

Iruka breathed heavily, the sound falling onto Kakashi's ear in little whisps of air, and a hollow, wet gasp soon followed after as Kakashi began to lose some of his composure, pushing in deeper, harder, into Iruka's tight heat.

"Fuck..." the youkai muttered into chocolate strands, Iruka's hair splayed all over the whiteness of the pillow.

Iruka shuddered at the low, muttered voice, hearing it quiver dangerously.

Iruka's eyes began to sting, though not entirely from sadness, even as the heat tightened and wound deeper into his stomach, signalling he was getting closer.

The long, hard thrusts seemed to become more jerky, and Iruka pushed as hard as he could back into Kakashi.

The heat was starting to blind him, his eyes could see no ceiling above him, and even the grey of Kakashi's hair seem to blur and swirl in his vision.

He'd done such a wrong, he'd left, he'd left for so long...

"Fuck-"

Iruka bit his lip at the agony of his ecstasy.

"Fuck I need you."

Soft words were muttered against his ear, nearly broken from their source buried in his neck.

A tear, in fierce rebellion, slipped free and slid down his temple and into his hair, causing Iruka to blink rapidly.

He didn't mind the pain at all as Kakashi dug his claws into his hips in a furious desperation, and moved his body in sync as much as he was able to with the rough, now haphazard motion of Kakashi inside him.

The whiteness was tight, and Kakashi-Kakashi-Kakashi...

He came with something between a sob and a gasp, his entire body jerking with his orgasm.

"Ugh..."

He scrambled with his hands on Kakashi's back to find some purchase, and the youkai thrust into him several more times before cumming himself, filling him awash with hot seed, while he also bit down on his neck, over that one mark.

Overwhelmed by sensation, by feeling, Iruka could only cling to Kakashi as he came back down to earth, sated all the way to the soul.

The only sounds in the still air of the bedroom were their heavy, laboured breathing.

Sweat clung to every pore, and was rapidly cooling on their bodies, leaving a stickiness neither cared about.

Kakashi let out a deep, content sigh, collapsing to the side, his heavy body limp as he stared at his mate through heavy lidded eyes.

Iruka's brown eyes stared back at him, looking as if they were melting, his tan cheeks alive with a red hue, and parted swollen lips through which he gasped for air. His fine hair tumbled down his cheeks in a waterfall, a few strands falling across his face to get in his eyes.

God, he was irresistible.

With a gentle finger, Kakashi reached out to brush those stubborn errant strands, and he drank in the sight as those eyes fluttered closed at the touch.

He let his finger linger, moving to trail it down a flushed cheek.

"I love you," came a soft whisper.

Coffee eyes were open once more, and it took a moment to realise it was Iruka who had spoken.

A small, pleased smile tilted his lips.

"Yeah, I know," he whispered back just as softly, though now with a bit of old humour creeping into his voice.

Without further ado, Kakashi pulled a gently smiling Iruka to lay flush against him, wrapping arms and entwining legs together.

It was much too hot for it, of course, but neither made to move away until the next morning.

It was quite the shame really, that their peaceful lives were about to be stamped upon by their wayward children, perhaps even later that very day.

But for now, they slept blissfully, oblivious.

* * *

When the knock came, it was very lucky they were awake.

It was late at night, passed the witching hour, and Kakashi had been sitting in his pajama's on the newly bought second-hand-sofa of comfiness, reading that day's newspaper he hadn't got round to reading.

Iruka was finishing up the cleaning of the kitchen after a late, cosy dinner of fish, the left over's of that morning's rice and a few odd plums. He was pretty much ready for bed as well, his custom hair tie already slowly slipping free in anticipation and he rolled his sleeves up as he finally closed the tiny dishwasher.

Most of the lights were out, and the pair were happily expecting a night of well-earned sleep after a long day.

Iruka was just straightening up as the door to their flat was banged upon, just twice, but with enough force to rattle the hinges.

A frown instantly marred the skin of Iruka's forehead, and he quickly stuck his head round the kitchen door to glance into the living room towards Kakashi.

"Who on earth could that be at this hour?" he asked, caught between annoyed and bewilderingly curious.

Kakashi's nose twitched a little and Iruka watched in fascination as the youkai tensed, and then sprung off the couch. He put his newspaper down slowly though, and merely ambled to the door, despite his spritely actions.

Iruka hesitantly stepped a few more paces into the living room proper, and Kakashi halted in front of the door. He only paused for a second or two, but the time it took seemed heavy and slow.

The silver haired man felt his lips twitch as he finally opened the door to see who lay on the other side.

He only managed a brief vision of the pair standing on the doorstep; full of weathered, dirty clothes and weary faces, along with the smell of old leather and mud, and a mirage of soft smiles.

"Kakashi-pervert!"

Came the excited cry, before a fox bounced in, blinding with the grin on his face and his blond hair glinting gold under the soft lights.

"Umph!"

Was all Kakashi could get out in reply as he was literally smothered in a bear-hug, vision full of that golden hair.

Luckily, he knew this person.

His eyes instantly darted over Naruto's shoulder, locking with amused black ones that bored into him from over the threshold.

Kakashi couldn't help but let out an inaudible sigh of relief, to see their boys again, alive and well.

Naruto was still hanging onto him like a leach, though not for long.

"Naruto?" questioned a small whisper.

"Iruka!!" Naruto positively _squealed _in his excitement, and Kakashi felt air rush into his lungs as the blond jumped off him to tackle Iruka. Shock and bemusement filled brown eyes, but they promptly welled up as he realised that Naruto, his Naruto, was hugging him.

"You're back," whispered Iruka softly, voice starting to wet with tears already, as he brought his arms up to hug his son just as fiercely around the middle, feeling as if he might disappear again any second.

"Yeah," muttered Naruto back into brown hair, already set off by Iruka, his voice cracking, no intention of letting go of one of his most precious people.

A man who had as good as raised him, who he hadn't' seen in _years_.

Their hold was tight and they even started to sway a little in the dim yellowy light that shone from the single lamp.

Naruto let his eyes slip closed, breathing deeply; Iruka smelt of lemony soap and fresh wood, and it was such a familiar scent that he almost wanted to bury himself in it. The slight smell of Kakashi on the man made him want to smile.

He could feel Iruka tighten his hold even further, scrunching the back of his thick, coarsely woven shirt, and he put a hand gently on top of the other man's head, letting his finger's glide through the soft strands.

They both sighed imperceptibly.

They didn't even break apart as the door shut with a soft click, though the two did look up to see Sasuke and Kakashi standing nearby.

Iruka smiled watery.

"Sasuke," he said in acknowledgement, and Sasuke didn't doubt he would get a hug later- even if Iruka was always, even now, _still _a little suspicious of him, the man took seriously to the idea that Sasuke was his son-in-law. It was somewhat amusing, though Sasuke still found it a little baffling.

Still, he happily watched the two reunite, feeling very content at the image, happy that Naruto was so happy.

And...he supposed...it was nice for him to see them again too.

It had been awhile.

And during his childhood he'd become accustomed to having Kakashi hanging around.

He was caught off guard a moment as Kakashi first sighed from beside him and then suddenly crushed the poor cat in a hug of his own.

Naturally, it was a much more _manly _hug, but both men's eyes glimmered a little before they broke apart rapidly.

Iruka still hadn't let Naruto go, and the blond seemed happy to let him. He turned slightly in the hold though so he could look at everyone, smiling happily at them all.

"So, you're back I see," stated Kakashi dryly, even though he couldn't quite pull off the disinterested tone as well as normal.

"Hmmhmm!" piped up Naruto, an indulgent smile taking across his face, and a strange glint in his eye as Iruka suddenly let go of him, only to grab his shoulders and force him a few steps back, so the man could look over the blond with a clear view and roving eyes.

Sasuke snorted.

"Yes," he stated, "though later than we had first anticipated."

Iruka spared a moment to give him a sharp glance, making a noise in his throat a little like an angry goose.

"Oh, you two," he said maligned, "if only you would actually _tell us_ when you were coming back- so we could see you- no idea what we could be doing- oh I mean..." his voice gave up halfway through the sentence, and Iruka resumed his inspection of Naruto.

Sasuke sighed.

"You know we can't."

Iruka's mouth tightened, even though he didn't look over to him again, and Kakashi gave a weary sigh.

"I almost hate to ask," Kakashi said, "but when are you leaving again?"

"Kakashi!" exclaimed Naruto softly, "we've been here barely five minutes, not even a proper chance to say hi again and you're already asking when we're leaving?!"

Kakashi blinked once, before the eye curled upwards and a hand was raised in warning.

"Maa, maa, Naruto-chan, you know I didn't mean it like that...."

Blue eyes narrowed in a way Kakashi thought was far too reminiscent of Iruka for his liking, but was saved surprisingly by Sasuke, who chose to speak up.

"Well then, nice to know you don't want to get rid of us that quickly."

"Sasuke! You know that's not-" Iruka interjected.

Sasuke shook his head good naturedly.

"Then you should also be glad to hear we're not going back."

Both older men froze for a moment.

"Not going back? To the countryside? Ever?" whispered Iruka sharply, eyes darting back and forth from Naruto to Sasuke.

The blond smiled cheekily at him and shook his head in confirmation.

"Oh! That's wonderful!" cried Iruka, giving in to his urge to hug his beloved Naruto to his chest once again, unmindful to the dirty cloths and dry caked mud transferring from Naruto to himself in the process.

Kakashi was a little more restrained with his jubilance, as he raised an eyebrow dubiously.

"Oh? And what's caused this then?"

Sasuke sent him an exasperated look; the poor Uchiha must be tired- and spoke.

"Don't start that; it always been planned this way- and now it's time."

Kakashi's eyebrow didn't move.

"Well," he said, "nice to clear that up then."

Sasuke ignored the dry sarcasm, too tired to deal with quick-minded youaki right that moment.

He glanced towards Iruka and Naruto, and was a little disappointed to see them still glued together.

"Iruka," started Sasuke a little uncomfortably, "sorry to cut the reunion short," here Iruka clutched Naruto with not a little horror, probably thinking that they were to take their leave once again, "but would you mind releasing Naruto and I? We could....really do with a shower."

Sasuke muttered plainly.

Iruka blinked, then pushed Naruto away again to stare at him once more.

He then glanced over to Sasuke.

From both their skin and clothes, dried mud was gently flaking to the floor, bits of grass stuck in odd places. Old, weathered boots were encrusted with dirt and their hair was matted with what could only be grime and sweat.

His tan face rapidly screwed up in disgust.

"My god, you two are _filthy! _What have you two been doing?! Don't you _ever_ wash?"

Naruto and Sasuke both gave non-committal grunts that couldn't be deciphered at this and simply stood there.

To be truthful, both were well and truly exhausted. The last leg of the latest part of their non-stop journey had involved some rather desperate hitch-hiking in the back of grimy trucks with no suspension and on mostly unpaved, bump filled roads.

They'd been little sleep for them, and their bodies ached all over. It had been a trail to drag their bodies up the staircases to reach the apartment, and their brief spurt of energy at seeing Iruka and Kakashi once again was rapidly leaving the both of them.

Sasuke was especially eager to get his mate clean, preferably fed, and then into a comfy bed where the blond could sleep uninterrupted on soft sheets for a few days.

Though, to be honest, Sasuke was ready to kill for some home-comforts himself at this point. His back burned with aches and pains all along his spine, his limbs were heavy like lead and lack of his sleep was making his head blurry and slow. Dirt and grunge stuck into his pores like a sickening second skin, ingrained into the worn fabric of his clothes with near impossible tenacity. His skin felt rancid and he longed to get himself clean.

The first few weeks of the journey back to Tokyo had been fine enough, but the last few bits became increasingly difficult. Naruto hadn't let on just how much he was rapidly starting to struggle with the pace, and the first thing Sasuke knew about it, the blond collapsed.

He hadn't lost consciousness thankfully, but those few moments where he'd had to just watch Naruto crumple like paper in a fist, a new, feverish terror had gripped him in its vice.

Sasuke had been pretty sure he'd experienced all types of fear in his young life before, but it seemed life could still find new ways to try to give him a heart attack.

Naruto had been gasping for air, head between his knees as Sasuke held him close, trying _somehow_ to pass on his own energy into his mate. Anything to make the blond better.

Naruto had quickly recovered after a few minutes, with a sheepish smile and an innocent face- only to be thoroughly yelled at by Sasuke for his pretence. He'd been so _angry...._

Naruto had stared at him with wide eyes, and as soon as he could, spewed an apology, that he wouldn't do it again, and would Sasuke please calm down so he could help him....

It was a very non-Naruto sort of thing to do, and Sasuke was still convinced that it was a handy mood swing of the blonde's with good timing.

But the point was, the child Naruto carried was rapidly draining him of his strength; bad rest, scorching weather, dehydration and constant trekking had thoroughly worn the blond out, with no chance to recover as the baby hoarded more and more of its parent's chakra by the day.

Sasuke had refused to make Naruto walk any further, while Naruto had point-blank refused to be carried the entire way (the blonds' compromising quota for the day already shot apparently).

They'd ended up doing a mix of walking slower- and at night when it was cooler, and Sasuke carrying a grumpy blond on his back- this being the most dignified position, according to Naruto, for someone needing to be _carried. _Sasuke ignored him, and when they could, they hitch hiked.

Though Sasuke wondered if it was really worth it when he cricked his neck for the nth time.

Still, they'd managed to finally reach the outskirts of Tokyo early that morning, when the ground was covered in a fine mist that was scalded gold with the sunlight, only to be burnt away within minutes.

They'd spent the rest of the day trying to get across the city as inconspicuously as possible.

Sasuke knew he was seriously tired when it took him nearly fifteen minutes to work out where they were going on the train map.

But, finally, they'd made it.

But the joy at seeing Iruka and Kakashi which gave them a brief reprieve was quickly being defeated in the face of tiredness. And Sasuke was determined to make sure Naruto was nice and comfy within another half hour.

Iruka sighed, as his question went unanswered, and his eyes quickly softened at the obviously quite bleary youkai. Even Naruto, who had been bouncy and cheerful at arrival, was blinking a little too much to be normal.

Iruka felt his instincts as a host and parent kick in.

"It's late- you two must be exhausted," he said in understanding tone that would normally annoy the Uchiha, "you two go have a shower, and I'll go prepare the guest room, we can talk and catch up on everything tomorrow morning."

Naruto nodded to this, rapidly dipping in his energy.

Kakashi sent Sasuke a mild look, "Would you like some food first, or straight to bed?"

"Bed," mumbled Naruto.

"No, food first, then bed," said Sasuke sternly with a glance towards his mate.

Naruto gave him a rather soft, feeble glare, as an understanding passed between them unspoken.

"Mph," Naruto pouted and let his head loll a little.

This action seemed to alarm Iruka a little as he rapidly ushered the blond to towards the bathroom.

Prompted to finally move from his place beside Kakashi, Sasuke stalked quickly after them. Just as Iruka was pushing Naruto into the bathroom, Sasuke replaced Iruka's guiding hand with his own.

Startled brown eyes darted upwards.

"I'll take him."

Iruka reluctantly let the Uchiha take his son into the bathroom and watched as the door closed and then heard the lock catch.

He sighed, tired himself and turned away to get out the spare sheets for the single guest room.

Sasuke closed the bathroom door with a sigh, turning the lock. Glancing behind him he saw Naruto standing dumbly in the middle of the small room, dirty boots smearing the gleaming white tile with mud.

Sasuke walked over to him and cupped his face gently, bringing tired blue eyes up to meet his.

"You alright?" he questioned softly, letting his touch linger in reassurance. Naruto's eyelids fluttered but he gave a small nod, bringing his arms up stiffly to start untying the strap of his bag.

"Yeah, just....really tired, you know?"

The blond gave a tiny smile and Sasuke removed his hands to help his mate remove his clothing, fingers numb and clumsy with exhaustion.

"Yeah...." he muttered softly, frowning as he let Naruto hold onto him as he struggled to get his boots off, teetering with the effort.

They fell off with a dull thud.

"We'll shower, eat and then go to bed- no need to get up anytime soon, right?"

Naruto nodded once more, this time with a yawn, and started to shrug off his shirt, half-watching as Sasuke began to remove his own clothes, peeling off the encrusted fabric with a look of distaste.

Naruto chuckled under his breath and let his top fall to the ground and stepped out of the last until he was completely naked.

It was more than a simple relief; he felt like he'd been living in those clothes forever.

He heard Sasuke grunt in the background, but he didn't bother to turn around and check, he instead went over to the shower, determined to wash the grime off his body as soon as possible.

On his way he passed the floor length mirror and wouldn't have paused, except that the swirl of colour he glimpsed out of the corner of his eye didn't seem quite right.

Dazed, he paused to look at himself, and for a moment he couldn't see what was the difference. Apart from all the dirt anyways.

Squinting, he turned to the side.

"....oh..." he breathed.

Sasuke looked up at the exhalation, only to see his mate nude, standing in front of a mirror and a hand grasping his stomach.

Slowly, Naruto turned horrified eyes towards him; though if he'd been more aware he might have seen the slight mischievous gleam as well.

"Sasuke..." he wailed ominously, "I've...."

"What?"

Naruto drew a deep breath.

"I've gotten fat!"

".....What?"

Naruto's brows furrowed.

"No, here, look!"

Feeling somewhat surreal, and sceptical, Sasuke dutifully padded over, kicking away the odd errant piece of clothing, and stood in front of the frowning blond.

Naruto stared expectantly, and Sasuke refused to roll his eyes as he was forced to grab and pull Naruto's tan hand away from his stomach.

He blinked, staring.

Naruto was right, or rather....

He placed his own hand over the slight slanting swell, letting his fingers spread as a fierce, animalistic pride swelled in his chest.

The tan skin was warm and almost taut, and was most definitely firm. It was a small thing, mostly unnoticeable, even with his clothes off, but it was a start.

Sasuke felt a purr rumble, unleashed, in the back of his throat and flicked his eyes down to match Naruto's who stared back almost challengingly.

A smirk tugged at his pale face.

"You're right," he commented lightly, "I told you all that ramen would come back to you one of these days."

He tried to keep his face straight as possible, delighting as the blond gaped at him, spluttering a little as Sasuke buried his nose in Naruto's soft hair.

"You...you _bastard!_ Don't you dare call me fat! And what's wrong with ramen anyways?!"

Sasuke couldn't help but break down and laugh at the indignant little blond, which just seemed to make Naruto all the more angry.

Sasuke didn't really notice what he was squawking about though and instead silenced by pressing his lips against his in a chaste, but wet kiss.

Naruto was quiet and blushing when he pulled away.

He couldn't help but smile at him as he wrapped his arms about his waist, entrapping him in a tight embrace.

"You're starting to show," he muttered in a conciliatory tone against the blonde's ear.

"Yeah," Naruto muttered back with a pout.

The Uchiha smiled against the fox's temple, breathing in the scent heavily.

"Iruka will go absolutely mad," said Sasuke lightly, finally pulling away to tug at Naruto's arm towards the shower.

The blond frowned as he stepped in after him.

"Good mad, or bad mad?"

A shrug and a sudden spray of water was his answer.

"Who knows?"

Naruto snorted under his breath, but didn't otherwise retort, instead reaching out to grab the bottle of shampoo; it felt heavy in his hand and he was glad it was nearly full- they'd most definitely need it.

The warm spray of the water was comforting, and Naruto happily filled his hands with the squelching shampoo before reaching up and dumping it in Sasuke's dark hair, which was always plastered endearingly to his white skin when wet.

He relished in making a lather and rubbing it in; more for the fact he knew he was getting rid of the dirt more than anything else. He jerked in shock as he felt cool hands, despite the water, touch his sides.

He glanced down and relaxed when he saw it was just Sasuke cleaning his body with a good amount of body wash. It smelt appropriately fruity and fresh.

Naruto hummed a little and got back to his task of scrubbing the poor Uchiha's head once, twice and even three times.

There was a lot of dirt and sweat to get out there.

He couldn't help but pause though as Sasuke got to his abdomen.

His mate always took great care when washing him, almost sensually, even when that was the last thing on their minds, but he slowed so much here, his hands so gentle as they moved over his newly formed bump, he couldn't prevent his breath from hitching.

Swirling dark eyes glanced up at him.

"What?"

His eye's softened and he felt his heart melt just a little more, but shook his head and made a grab for a bit of conditioner to work out the many tangles.

Sasuke, he thought, despite all evidence to the contrary, was abominably sweet.

The rest of the time spent in the shower was done in complete silence, and Naruto nearly stumbled out by the time it was over. Sasuke made sure to keep a strong grip on his arm.

They piled their clothes in a heap, but otherwise made do covering themselves in Iruka's white fluffy towels as they sat in the duly light kitchen. Sasuke ended up spending most of the time watching to make sure that Naruto ate then eating himself, and then it was one last stumble off to the guestroom.

As Naruto fell on top of the soft, cool covers in a heap of slightly damp bath towels, he couldn't help but feel relief flow through every pore of his being, and he could confess that at this point in time- this part of his life- he was completely happy.

* * *

That morning, Iruka couldn't help humming to himself, bright fresh light streaming into the kitchen through the window, making the counter tops shine and the sink sparkle. It was a beautiful day, with birds chirping, and despite the fierce heat, the odd hopeful fluffy cloud drifting up in the sky.

Iruka was beaming with content, happily drying the dishes, as he pattered about the kitchen with a delightful energy. Nothing could bring down his mood that morning.

Naruto was back!

Alive, well and in his room sleeping peacefully, and in just a little while he'd be awake to greet him with those dear glistening blue eyes of summer, loud and cheerful, and then he'd stuff his face with rice and the rest of Iruka's cooking.

The brown haired sensei sighed in deep contentment, staring a little dazed out the window.

It'd been such a long time since he'd had his son in the house- and he was going to make the best of it. He didn't even care if Naruto made a mess, like usual. Iruka was sure he could even clean Naruto's three-month-old dirty laundry from the floor and still be smiling.

Today was just such a good day!

Iruka smiled, blushing into the plate he'd just dried before gently placing it on the rack, just in time to jump in the air as sneaking arms wrapped around his waist and squeezed.

"Kakashi!" he yelled in surprise, though it contained a laugh as well.

"Put me down!"

"Aw, but I'm so jealous- my lovely Iruka-koi smiling like that at tableware- I didn't know you liked that sort of thing!"

"Oh hush it you!" said Iruka, fondly batting at his lover's grey hair, his feet being slowly put back onto the squeaky clean floor tiles.

"I need to check on breakfast," he commented, picking up a spatula. Kakashi, however, didn't release the grip on his waist and instead he peaked over Iruka's shoulder, to see several pots bubbling away.

"Wah, someone's eager this morning....I think I'm jealous again."

Iruka simply smiled and hit Kakashi's creeping hands with the spatula a few times till he let go. Turning, he further used his weapon to enunciate his words.

"Now you- I'm in a very good mood today, since Naruto here's, so I don't want you ruining it, understand? No silly comments this morning or I'll gut you," Iruka's scary face morphed into a dazed look, "I want everything to be perfect!"

Kakashi watched, blinking, as his mate flounced away, humming again, and he shook his head warmly.

It was lovely to see his Iruka-chan looking so genuinely happy and not worrying for once. It was at those times that he really shone his brightest, and it warmed his heart to see.

"Maa, I don't know why you made breakfast though- those two probably won't be up until this evening."

Iruka shot him a look over his shoulder.

"I know my Naruto- he can't resist good food for long."

Kakashi wasn't too sure what to say to that, still convinced that they wouldn't be seeing hide nor hair of the younger little demons until much later; they'd been exhausted last night. But Kakashi said nothing more, not wanting to disturb Iruka in his zen moments. Instead, he simply sat down at the table, propping his chin on one hand and quietly watching Iruka's gentle yet precise movements above the stove. It was so soothing, he happily zoned out, thoughts drifting wherever they wanted.

Though, despite the peace, his mind kept getting snagged on something. It'd nagged him last night too, when Naruto, and Sasuke, had barged through the door. There was just a little something he couldn't quite pinpoint, but it was itching his brain. He absent mindedly scratched his head, tilting the silver strands.

It was something about Naruto- maybe the both of them. But when he tried to think of it, it seemed to just slip away. He thought Naruto smelt a bit....odd. It could have been all the mud of course but....

Ah well, it'd come to him. Maybe he would even ask about it later.

He let it go without effort, despite the itch, and tuned back in his vision to see Iruka begin pilling an unholy amount of white, fluffy rice into a bowl, the steam making the counter hazy and Kakashi blink rapidly.

He sighed and watched as Iruka set out a veritable feast on to the table, making it practically groan by the time he'd finished. Kakashi felt a little drop of sweat drip down the back of his head; Iruka never made this much for him- and even for guests, surely this was a little much?

But Iruka was again beaming in satisfaction and- and he was wearing an apron and- and he was still holding that spatula, so he didn't say a word.

He leaned back in his seat and scratched a cheek furtively.

Iruka gave a little clap of his hands and went to get cutlery. Feeling a little awkward, Kakashi made a stab at it.

"Ah, Iruka-koi, this all looks so lovely! It's been a while since you, er, went through so much exercise in the kitchen! A-ha-haaa..."

Iruka didn't seem to be listening to him. In fact, he was back to humming again.

"Ah...." mumbled Kakashi.

He sighed internally, slightly wounded, but decided to make the best of it, reaching to pick up his chopsticks. Can't let all this good food go to waste, nah?

"Thwaa-aack!"

Kakashi stared, wide eyed and frozen with his hair fluttering, as his chopsticks flew through the air and clattered onto the floor with a tinkling sound. Iruka had whacked them with his spatula.

His temple was twitching a little.

"No starting until Naruto is here."

"Uh...." Kakashi nodded.

Maaa, Iruka was scary. Especially with the spatula. He gazed forlornly to the closed white door where Naruto and Sasuke had slept last night. It was ominously quiet.

Silence descended on the kitchen, food bowls steaming and wafting their divine scent all around the room, Iruka standing back with a smile on his face, and Kakashi slumped in his seat feeling a little dejected. He understood that Iruka was really happy and all that Naruto was back; he was happy to see him too- and Sasuke. But still, surely Iruka was being a bit unfair? He bit back any grumbles though and went for the peaceful route. Silence.

They remained that way for a couple of minutes before Kakashi decided to try attempting to wheedle some leeway out of his lover, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by a loud crash, sounding as if it came from the guest room.

Both men whipped their heads around to stare at the closed door, and were soon rewarded as the still air was once more split with some rather dubious noises.

There was another crashing sound, followed by a rolling thud, as if someone fell out of bed. Then there was some brief, echoing silence before a keening whine seeped out from under the door.

Kakashi and Iruka briefly traded looks, before continuing to stare. There was now odd muffled sounds. Talking?

Both men flinched at another crash, and then the white door was flung open, the doorknob slamming into the wall, revealing Naruto standing in the middle of it in all his bright glory.

He was wearing a large t-shirt and some boxers, and that was it, and he looked somewhat smug, and very-very awake. Clutched in his left hand was a pale wrist, and Kakashi felt some pity as realised that Naruto was dragging a half dead Sasuke behind him.

Naruto, for his part, didn't really seem to notice.

"Na, na! What smells so good?!"

Iruka clapped his hands together again.

"Ah, Naruto, I made breakfast for you this morning- I thought you could do with a proper home cooked meal for once."

Naruto's face split in two with his signature grin, stretching his whisker marks and making him look more like a fox than ever. His intense eyes were gleaming mistily.

"Suuugggoi!" He whooped, and dashed over to the table, ignoring the thuds against the floor where he dragged Sasuke's prone form. He completely let the half-standing half-crawling Uchiha go as he reached the table, and Kakashi watched in bemusement as his dark head immediately slammed into the floor with the rest of him.

"Urngh....."

Naruto once again paid no attention to the pain of his mate, and instead rammed out a chair and sat down, immediately grabbing up some chopsticks to start in on the feast before him, rice already sticking to his cheeks, and flecking it on the table, the floor and everywhere.

Iruka just stood over him and smiled warmly, eyes crinkling and sighing in fondness.

"Uh..."

A pale hand slapped itself onto the table, and Sasuke pushed himself into an adjacent seat, hunching and with bags under his eyes that would impress a corpse. He had about the brain power outage as a zombie as well, patting his hand around for a mug, hoping for coffee.

Sasuke no work in morning without caffeine.

He made a few more indistinguishable grunting noises before pale fingers finally curled around a cup handle. That seemed as far as he could go however, before Sasuke short circuited again and his head dipped. He'd get going again in a few minutes. And if that failed, you could always poke him.

Kakashi felt himself smile a little as well, and deeming it safe, picked up his chopsticks once more.

The food did look really good.

Still, he was a bit amazed that Naruto could look so rejuvenated in just a few hours of good sleep. Sasuke looked a lot more than what he thought. But he probably shouldn't be surprised. Naruto had always been the hyper sort, and probably had just benefitted from a comfy bed and some decent food to lure him out.

"Na~ Iruka, you're a really good cook! Have you got better since last time?"

Iruka laughed and ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Oh Naruto....still, I could teach you if you like? I never got round to it before- and I don't think ramen counts."

"Nurgh....." agreed Sasuke.

Naruto pouted. But it only lasted a moment before he shoved some loaded chop sticks back into his mouth.

It really was an idyllic sort of morning...

It sort of felt surreal, coated with a warm, honey aura.

Naruto eating, Iruka laughing, Sasuke...well, breathing. It was all very nostalgic. Despite the heat, Kakashi felt himself warm for the first time in quite a while.

This was....nice.

Kakashi smiled a little, unnoticed and basked.

Yeah...

This was....good.

* * *

**A/N: I hope it was good- and there was plenty of fluff. More action will happen next chapter- which unless disaster should be less than five months away this time!**

**Hope you enjoyed and let me know what you thought!**


	5. The Park

Disclaimer: i do not own Naruto.

**A/n: Jeezus. Lots of you have prob forgot about this story;sorry but uni has been crushing my soul. And i think i can admit i've been having serious writer's block. But i've kept at it, it has not been abandoned and here is another chapter. Enjoy!**

Warnings: You've been here before...

* * *

**The Park**

It was a long time before Naruto finally set down his chopsticks, leaning back in his chair with his hands folded over his stomach, sighing loudly in contentment.

It was a peaceful visage; Iruka had sat down by now to nibble at the feast he'd created, spending most of it watching Naruto with the sort of fondness usually associated with teary eyed mother's. Naruto had shovelled down enough food to feed a small nation, and Sasuke was mildly more perky than before, having downed four cups of coffee before being able to sit up straight.

It had also been a quiet affair, not something Kakashi would normally expect from a room containing Naruto, but he guessed it was simply a sign of good food. And hunger.

It was a glorious day outside, the sun continued to bathe the kitchen in a warm, airy glow that made you think of calm days and siestas. From where he sat, lounging in his chair, Naruto looked quite happy to drift off. As Kakashi gently set his own utensils down, he shared a brief glance with Iruka over the scrubbed wooden table.

Maybe now after food, they could talk some.

Sasuke gave a light sigh from somewhere to his right, and for the first time picked up a chopstick to poke and scrounge at the scattered remains his blond mate had left for him. The moody cat looked suitably unimpressed with the meagre offering, and though he sent Naruto a sideways look, didn't complain.

Naruto yawned in reply.

"Ahh," Kakashi sighed wistfully, "it's just like when you were teenager's again."

Naruto opened one eye to glare and Sasuke grunted.

"Oh yes, definitely."

"Did you sleep well last night, Naruto?" Iruka cut in, "Those sheets were clean of course, but I haven't gotten around to washing them in a while; they may have been a little dusty."

"They were fine, Iruka," Sasuke answered for them.

Iruka pursed his lips and turned his gaze back to the blond, who was sitting so relaxed, with eyes closed and sunning himself, that he didn't appear to have heard anything.

"Hmmmm..."

"Naruto," muttered Iruka exasperatedly.

Naruto peered over with one eye again.

"What? I'm sleeeeepy Iruka-sensei!"

The poor man could only sigh.

"I was hoping we could have a nice long chat this morning."

"About what?" came the suspicious reply.

"About anything. It's been too long and who knows how long you'll be here. I just want to know what you've been up to and where you've been. Is that so wrong?"

Naruto groaned loudly and flopped forward.

"Iruuka!" he whined, "Don't say it like that! It's really not been that interesting- you can tell me all that you've been doing! I'll just sit here and listen, really."

"And then you'll just fall asleep on me," said Iruka flatly.

"Hehe," Naruto laughed guiltily and rubbed the back of his head with one hand, flopping forward in his chair so that the legs hit the floor with a 'bang!'

"Like I would do tha-why is Kakashi-pervert sniffing me?"

"Naruto don't change the subject-"

"But he is!"

Three pairs of eyes travelled to Kakashi's form, which was indeed, tilted in Naruto's direction.

Caught, Kakashi gave a guilty little chuckle of his own and held a hand up in surrender.

"Maa, sorry about that Naruto-kun, just wanted to check something!"

His visible eye curled up in a U-shape, but that didn't stop the suspicious glares from the rest of the table.

Sighing to himself, and not sure what he was hoping for, he lowered his hand and sent another beaming look in Naruto's direction.

"Oh! And congratulations by the way!"

The effect was immediate. Naruto froze exactly in his seat, and Sasuke stiffened like you'd shot him with an electric dart. Oh dear. He was right then.

Inside Kakashi's head, minor pandemonium that would be more related to Iruka, was set off.

Iruka leaned forward over the cooling rice bowls to stare at the two younger men.

"Eh? Kakashi what are you talking about? Naruto? Sasuke?"

Kakashi didn't hear him.

_Sasuke. His chibi little Sasuke-chan...was now having cute scowling chibi's of his own to torture. They grow up so fast...he wasn't ready for this!_

"I mean...it's just..." Kakashi babbled mindlessly. He'd known Sasuke was all grown up for a long time now, but. Sasuke had knocked someone up; he was a true man now. Kakashi felt like he might start crying.

It felt like an eon ago that he was standing outside the burnt, husked remains of old clan houses. The same clan that had rejected him, and Obito. He still felt young then and full of rage and resentment, and looking after a child? That was the last thing he wanted in his life.

But the law was the law, and Sasuke had stood there, managing to scowl viciously and look pathetic at the same time. He was a headstrong, rebellious, rash and irrational child; hurtful and hurting. Not that endearing. But Kakashi managed to discover the joy of being a parent, even after Sasuke decided to emancipate himself- Kakashi's reaction had been an eye roll to that, and he'd felt secure that Sasuke would always be a little childish.

But now Sasuke was having a child himself, and he was hardly a foolish teenager anymore. To have another little Uchiha in the world...would mean everything to Sasuke.

For the first time, Kakashi felt himself glaring mildly in a very confused Naruto's direction. He'd better do it right...

Yes. He'd definitely start crying if he kept thinking. He was turning into Iruka. Man up!

Kakashi gave a suspiciously thick cough to clear his throat.

He'd have to be on hand for when Iruka went ballistic...he could do this.

"Oh, Iruka-koi, I was just congratulating Naruto on the baby you see."

Iruka was completely void of expression.

"Baby?"

Both Sasuke and Naruto seemed to have lost their voices, going curiously mute. The cowards.

"Ahh. You see I thought something was a bit off last night, but it wasn't until this morning that I worked out what it was-Naruto is pregnant you see, so he smells different than usual."

Silence.

...

...

...

The few rice grains left tried to imitate tumbleweed.

Kakashi, a brave man, attempted to break the ice once more.

"So, when are you due?"

"Ummm..." Naruto was very articulate in times of strain.

"Late February to March. Just in time for spring."

Sasuke's voice was quiet yet strong, and even held a note of challenge to it, as if he could sense's Kakashi's internal struggle.

"Naruto-" interrupted Iruka abruptly, though he wasn't really interrupting, "are you really having a baby?"

Iruka was leaning forward in his chair, eyes intense and as large as saucers as he surveyed the blond from head to toe, perhaps searching for some sign.

"Erh," Naruto cleared his throat clumsily and held the hands over his belly perhaps a little more protectively, "Er, yeah I am actually, Iruka-sensei. Me- me and Sasuke are really happy about it."

Here he glanced almost frantically to Sasuke, trying to share the soon inevitable fallout.

Sasuke appeared stunned for a moment before trying to rally himself. But before he could even open his mouth, an odd sound filled the small kitchen.

It was a sort of a high pitched keen, that would surely draw dogs from miles around.

Naruto blinked once before he was smothered. He coughed and spluttered on brown hair as Iruka hugged him so _enthusiastically _that his chair was sent skittering back a few feet. Trying to regain some control, and not to choke, Naruto manoeuvred them so they were now standing- _sort of-_ Iruka clinging to him.

It took a minute for Iruka to calm down enough for them to understand him.

"Oh Naruto, I'm so happy for you!"

...

All the other minds in the room boggled.

Iruka pulled back enough so that his beaming smile could be seen by all and he started o ramble at the shocked Naruto in his arms.

"I know you always wanted to know a family of your very own, and now you're having a baby- oh I just don't know what to do with myself. Does this make me a grandparent? And Naruto how far along are you, how are you doing with it? Is anything really bothering you? What are you going to do when the baby comes, will you and Sasuke finally settle down somewhere- you are right? Right? Oh and we have so much to talk about and discuss, this so big! And wonderful of course. Oh Naruto!"

Iruka proceeded to hug Naruto tightly once more to him.

"You're not...you're not...mad?" Naruto asked hesitantly from where his head was lodged between Iruka's chest, and an arm.

Iruka stared at him.

"Eh? Why would I? This is wonderful news; you must be so excited!"

...

"Aa...yeah."

Iruka smiled so warmly Naruto could only stare.

"And I already know that Sasuke will take good care of you, and the baby when it's here, so why should I worry? You silly."

Iruka sniffed a little here and hugged Naruto to him again. This time Naruto whole heartedly joined in, with tinkling laugh of joy.

Sasuke felt his eyes sting a little. He'd never quite thought that Iruka fully trusted him before. To be honest, he was a bit nervous about all this himself. To hear that Iruka, _Iruka, _had that sort of trust and belief in him, warmed his heart in a way he hadn't thought possible. And he gave a little smile of his own.

_Thank goodness._

Kakashi remained staring.

_Well damn._

He'd been sure that Iruka would have gone psycho and tried to kill Sasuke or something for 'corrupting' and 'defiling' his precious Naruto. Maybe Iruka hadn't realised yet _how _Naruto got pregnant?

_Shit._

_If Iruka won't cry, I really just might._

* * *

It was mid morning by the time they were once again settled, this time in the living room, Iruka and Naruto jabbering away happily on the sofa about who-knows-what. Probably everything.

Sasuke and Kakashi had retreated to a safe distance on the other side of the room, leaning casually against the window. This did not stop however, Sasuke keeping his gaze in Naruto's direction. By default, Kakashi imitated him in looking over towards the sofa.

"And so then we had to get on _another _truck and then we-"

Naruto made some large round hand movement and Iruka nodded appreciatively.

"Lively this morning, isn't he?"

"Hm?"

Sasuke gave a little jerk of the head at his question, and Kakashi gave a little smile at his lack of attention.

"Oh," said Sasuke a little confusedly, "yes, he is. But you know Naruto..."

Kakashi hummed in soft agreement, and sent his pseudo son a scant glance.

"I guess you want to look out for him even more now, what with the baby and all?"

Sasuke met the words with a solid stare; you really could see nothing in his coal eyes. His voice was smooth and even.

"Of course, he's a lot more vulnerable now than he would want to admit- we had some trouble already getting here."

Sasuke waved off Kakashi's raised eyebrow.

"Nothing more than would be expected, still i'm glad we no longer have to run around the countryside. Still, the situation now we're back in Tokyo is bit more delicate."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, keeping one eye on the two chatting on the sofa, while keeping his voice at a reasonable volume so they could not overhear them.

"I would imagine so, you'll need to find a safe place, though actually keeping Naruto out of harm's way is something I leave entirely up to you."

"Thanks," said Sasuke dryly, to which Kakashi gave a smile.

"Don't mention it. I presume you want to use a safe house?"

Sasuke gave a curt nod, shifting his weight to rest on his other leg.

"I have plans to use the one in Hibiya park, what do you think?"

Kakashi sent a glance over towards Naruto, who was grinning awkwardly, his fists clenched and up in the air, as Iruka gave the odd poke to his belly.

"I think it'll be pretty?" he lamely joked. Sasuke's frown was only a tad amusing. Kakashi sighed and folded his arms, a little irritated.

"It'll feel less confined to a person like Naruto i'm sure, and it's as good a place as any safety wise. Is there enough space?"

"There are only a handful of youkai in permanent residence there, and I think Naruto has met most of them before now."

Kakashi was interested now.

"Oh? I would have thought you might not exactly like that-isn't Gaara supposed to be around?"

Sasuke snorted, his own arms crossed. "Why would I care anything about that guy? No, I think it should be ideal, not to mention the more natural setting should help soothe Naruto some. He likes plants."

Kakashi felt a smile creep up under his mask but simply shook his head genially, and said no more on the matter.

"Still, you'll have to attend the next meeting right? The council will particularly interested to know that the Uchiha line is making a comeback."

Sasuke responded to Kakashi's smirk with a flat look.

"One child is hardly a comeback."

The silver haired wolf rubbed his covered chin thoughtfully. "Ah, poor Naruto, does he know how many babies you're going to make him have?"

Sasuke frowned, looking a little pissed off. Kakashi giggled inside; so many new avenues to tease him with, so little time.

"Kakashi, just shut up. You're growing senile in your old age already."

Kakashi went to respond, but the wily cat used this time to turn his attention away and to walk over towards his mate, who was being quizzed by Iruka on his vitamin intake.

"Naruto! It's more important than ever in your condition to have a healthy and balanced diet, you don't want to the baby to get sick do you?"

"Of course not," muttered Naruto red-faced, "but the only craving I have is for meat- if the baby needed vegetables, I would want to eat them!"

Iruka gave a put upon sigh.

"That's not how it works, and you know it. Foxes don't just eat meat you know."

Sasuke took this moment to chime in.

"He's right you know."

Naruto gave him a betrayed look as his mate flopped next to him, smirking.

"Don't worry Iruka, I'll make sure he eats fine."

Naruto glared at the cat with slitted eyes.

"Teme..."

Sasuke's response was to simply reach out a hand to ruffle blond locks, causing Naruto to let out a grumpy noise of dissatisfaction and try to pat his hands away.

Sasuke smirked at Naruto's childish response and bathed in the hot scowl sent his way.

"You're mean Sasuke," pouted Naruto.

"Nothing you didn't know before," replied Sasuke dismissively, using the opportunity to place his arm around Naruto's shoulders, and pull him close to his side.

"Hmm, doesn't stop me hoping though," joked Naruto as he let himself slide along the sofa a couple of inches.

"Humph."

"So, what are we doing this afternoon?" asked Naruto perkily as he snuggled down.

Iruka sighed exasperatedly.

"Must you be entertained Naruto? Can't we just sit and relax and spend some time with eachother?"

"I suppose," muttered Naruto with a vague expression. After so long always on the move, it was hard to think of just staying still, sitting around. He felt restless and energetic already after only a few hours rest. And he didn't quite feel comfortable staying here with Iruka-it was not that he had anything against staying here, no. But he knew he couldn't stay, and he was starting to grow weary of not having a place to call home. It had been very long time since he could any place that, and with Sasuke...

He closed his eyes and buried his head under Sasuke's arm.

His scent was comforting and helped ease his energy. Maybe he could have another nap...

He felt more than heard Sasuke begin to speak, his voice sending rumbles through his chest.

"Actually Iruka, I would like to get away as soon as possible; you're not on any lists and this place is not secure. I'd rather get Naruto off to where we will be staying for the next while. And," he added as Iruka looked quite upset, "its not as if we cant visit a lot more often in future. We won't be that far."

Iruka looked appealingly towards Naruto who only smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei, but I sorta agree with Sasuke. Don't worry; we won't be running off anywhere!"

"You'd better not," huffed Iruka in a grudging agreement, moving to embrace Naruto in his arms once more.

"But at least stay for lunch."

Naruto was quick to agree and they all sat down less than an hour later for egg and tuna sandwiches with cold soup. Sasuke didn't want to seem too pushy, but he hurried the cleaning process so he and Naruto could set off into the baking summer afternoon sunshine as quickly as possible. He had to make time for the five minuter hug that Iruka refused to release Naruto from once they finally reached the door.

Sasuke had to practically grab Naruto by the arm and push him down the stairs when Iruka showed a moment of weakness. Naruto called a goodbye from up the stairwell, and Sasuke heard the door shut; Kakashi was good for something.

They hurtled out from the last steps into the afternoon sunshine, blinking blearily after the dim shade of the building. It was a perfectly sunny Saturday afternoon, and the streets were heaving appropriately.

Perfect.

The crowds would stop them from being followed and he didn't feel like shifting Naruto once he got comfortable, so best to move on to their new destination as soon as possible before Naruto became attached to staying at Iruka's (and Kakashi's, he supposed,) flat.

So, slipping his hand gently over Naruto's own, they set off at an amiable pace down the street.

It was a pleasant walk; the sun was shining and they walked at a sedate pace. They had little cash on them, so they decided to walk as much of the way as possible. Naruto couldn't help but stare around them with enthusiasm as he re-familiarised himself with the city streets; glorious in this weather, glass gleaming like silver fish and birds twittering and trees bursting with fleshy green leaves. They walked down the road between wooden slatted fences, the concrete hard underneath their feet, a welcome relief after rough tracks and wading through mud.

As such, they made good time on the little joinder, in fact it was more than a pleasant way to spend the afternoon, feeling more like a stroll than a journey. Sasuke had shouldered a single rucksack, full of a few things and odds and ends. Their clothes had been cleaned lovingly by Iruka, but Sasuke had said there would be more waiting for them at their new residence, so Naruto happily let him carry the remnants of their possessions.

Neither spoke much as they weaved through the web of streets, a walk that lasted several hours. Both were quite content to simply enjoy it, and Naruto hummed lightly under his breath, feeling his lips tilt into a smile for no reason.

He also didn't bother to ask Sasuke where they were headed; he'd asked several times the night before to receive no decent answer and saw no reason to continue pestering his mate, when he himself was happy enough.

The sun was on it's downwards turn when they turned onto a road with a park gate. It was still several hours until sunset, but the air had the definite golden feel of late afternoon.

The place was less crowded now, as many of the people who had thronged the streets went to cool down in cafe's and bars for sweet cool tea and ice cream cakes.

Naruto let their still joined hands swing between them as they entered under the archway of a black wrought iron gate and into the leafy expanse of a park.

Naruto liked it immediately. It had traditional Japanese beds, with areas of neatly trimmed grass, closed off with wooden fencing. A Sakura tree draped itself over, just behind an up ahead bend, its flowers long gone, but leaves still swaying cheerfully.

Naruto would have been quite intent to loiter and stare around some more, or even flop himself under one of the shadier trees, but Sasuke gave a gentle tug on his hand and pulled him off to the left, under some overhanging branches to walk down a smaller path; though still primly maintained, with white painted stones, practically glued to the ground.

Their feet made little noise as they padded down through the shaded grove of trees, and Naruto was sure he could hear the faint tinkling of water from nearby. It was all very serene, and he found himself wanting to yawn.

Covering his mouth with one hand, Naruto sent Sasuke a sideways look as they ducked under another lot of low branches and stepped out into sunlight once more.

Sasuke wasn't looking at him, but rather ahead. Though Naruto knew he wasn't really looking at that either. He was clearly lost in thought, feet on autopilot. Or maybe he was feeling as calm (and a more than a little sleepy) as Naruto. It was a sensation to enjoy after all.

They walked further on, up a small incline, and right beside a small ornamental lake. It was pretty too; jagged stones artfully arranged around the edge and the water shimmering green from the reflection of the leaves above. Though Naruto was sure, with its artfully pruned bushes and tiny trees, it would look even more impressive on a misty morning.

Naruto slowed to look better, and he felt the tug of Sasuke's hand once more. Not wanting to be deadweight, he hurried his pace a little, till they were walking side by side again. They skirted the little lake for a bit longer, before turning off onto another path practically hidden by a rather healthy and large bush. This path led them down past another patch of grass, sheltered by trees on all sides, which was blocked off by more wooden fencing- though there was a little kissing gate on one end.

Here Sasuke stopped, and looking a bit further up, Naruto could see why.

There was a house, standing right bam in the middle of the grass patch, its red tiled roof and sweet chimney being slowly swallowed by the willow-like trees swooping above it. It was a squarish-house, with a sky blue door and four windows arranged over two floors. It had white washed walls, and even a small well next to it, though this was boarded up. It certainly didn't look Japanese, but it didn't look too recent either. Something else ornamental?

Sasuke gave a casual glance up and down the path before placing a hand on the gate and pushing through. A little unsure, Naruto followed after him, gently pushing the gate back so it didn't make a huge crash on its hinges.

Sasuke walked on up to the house. Naruto followed him.

Closer to, Naruto could see the windows also had boards covering them, this time from the inside. It all looked a bit dusty and forgotten, despite its pretty, cheery front, and Naruto felt himself sad just looking at it.

Sasuke ignored the front door altogether, passing past the front, the side, and right to the back of the house. A little startled, as Sasuke still hadn't said a word, he jogged a little after him.

It was much tighter enclosed here, with the trees making a thick impenetrable wall of branches just a scant few feet away from the back wall; just allowing a somewhat barer scrap of grass to grow.

Sasuke approached the back door, which was painted the same sky blue as the front, though this one had its paint peeling in a lot more places. He raised a knocker, which was rather odd now Naruto thought about it and thumped the door very deliberately three times.

Naruto itched to make a comment.

Sasuke sent him a _look. _

Naruto said nothing.

Though he did smile.

He was jerked from Sasuke's rather baleful look by the sound of movement from inside the house. He should have expected it, but still Naruto couldn't help but step back in surprise. The rumble of wood sliding over each other disturbed the still afternoon air- early evening really-and the blond glanced about furtively, as if someone would jump out at any moment.

The panic eased as the door was pulled open with a thud, shuddering in its frame and a pale hand came out and beckoned sharply.

Not to argue with a hand, Naruto stepped inside, letting Sasuke enter after him and to shut the door behind him.

The light was suddenly a lot more grainy, and it took a moment of squinting to recognise the dark shape standing in the corridor they'd walked into.

"Neji!"

"Not so loud!" came a low hiss- Naruto wasn't entirely sure who said it.

"Whoops," he laughed, rubbing the back of his head and he danced out of Sasuke's way as he shouldered up next to him.

"But, I haven't seen you in, like, forever! Where have you been?"

Naruto asked, a little anxiously, pulling of his shoes, and staring at Neji's somewhat fuzzy outline in the dark. He heard Sasuke grunt next to him as he balanced on one foot.

"Around," said Neji shiftily, "same as you I expect."

Naruto pouted.

"You're so cooold Neji!"

"And you still whine a lot I see."

But the voice was light and amused, so Naruto simply grinned. Now clad in just his socks, he stepped forward and pulled the taller man into a tight bear hug. Neji appeared suitably squashed, but returned it all the same.

"It's really good to see you Neji," said Naruto, a lot more softly, and muffled somewhat.

"Same for you too- are you staying for good this time?"

"Yes," uttered Sasuke grumpily, scowling at being left out, and watched keenly as Naruto slipped his arms out of hugging Neji.

"No need to be jealous Uchiha," smirked Neji.

"Che."

Neji smiled, and then turned, beckoning with a hand to follow after him.

They trod across the floorboards, which squeaked something awful, Sasuke trailing to pick up Nartuo's abandoned shoes.

Naruto had expected to go up the wooden stairs he could see curling upwards at the end of the hallway, but was surprised when Neji stopped half way and opened the door on the right, which Naruto would have usually assumed to be a living or dining room. Maybe even the kitchen.

Not quite.

When Neji opened the door, it revealed a room that looked mostly like the inside of a metal box; it was bare of pretty much anything with metal walls, floor and ceiling.

The only point of note were the stairs. Going down.

Naruto sent Sasuke an incredulous look, but the Uchiha merely raised an eyebrow.

The blond turned back to face the stairs, which disappeared into a kind of pit. He was immediately suspicious of the hand rails. And the green-ish tinge the metal gave off, while also not being shiny.

Narrowing his eyes, he watched as Neji marched down them, and with a shove, obviously opened another door.

Feeling Sasuke at his back, the blond slowly descended after him and stepped through to the 'bunker' beyond.

He was in for another surprise.

There was carpet for one; Naruto took a moment to wriggle his toes in it. And wallpaper, and even the odd picture on the walls. It wasn't as cold as he'd expected, and he could see a few airy doors ajar further along the long corridor. At the very end, he could spy white and black checker tiles. With the confirmation of his nose, what smelt awfully like bacon, Naruto proceeded to the kitchen with no further complaints.

Both Neji and Sasuke traded exasperated, yet fond, looks.

"Kiba! Hinata! Oh my god, I really _haven't _seen you guys in forever!"

And winces.

Sasuke trod dutifully after his mate, only to find the blond fox hugging Hinata, who looked quite out of breath, and sort-of holding Kiba at the same time in what looked much like a headlock.

But Kiba was just as enthusiastic.

"Blondie!" he howled, "This is so awesome, I didn't know you were coming today! Oh, this is so cool! Have you been here before? Its great right? Are you staying long? What are you here for? Pleeeeaaaasssee tell me you me you didn't bring that grumpy killjoy along with you?"

Sasuke snorted.

"Sorry to disappoint you, mutt."

Kiba turned to stare glumly at him for all of two seconds before breaking out into a proper grin.

"Awh man, you know I'm just kidding, it's really great to see you both, alive and well you know?"

Kiba clapped Naruto on the back, and they stepped back, Hinata falling back to her feet in the process.

"Oh, sorry Hinata, are you okay?"

The little youkai nodded breathlessly, and Neji frowned at the arm Kiba placed around her shoulders.

"Why don't you sit down," he offered, to Sasuke and Naruto, indicating the rather large scrubbed table that was seated a little away from the kitchen area. Obviously, the room doubled as both kitchen and dining room.

Though excited at seeing old friends again, Naruto happily sank into one of the chairs, stretching out his legs and sighing in relief.

"That walk was longer than I thought, ne Sasuke?"

Sasuke sat next to him, unobtrusively laying a hand on the blonde's thigh and squeezing for a moment.

"It was a nice day though," to which Naruto nodded, and leant back to stare at the ceiling. It had been pasted in light, floral, but mostly white wallpaper, but you could see the edges of metal peaking out at the corners.

Though the decorators had obviously taken pains to make the underground space as airy, light and inviting space as possible, it was still inevitable; he was going to be living in a metal box for the indefinite future. He felt instantly more sympathetic for sardines.

"So, what is this place?" he asked, still looking at the ceiling.

Kiba gratefully answered, holding a knowing finger in front of his face.

"This, my friend, is our underground base at Hibiya- a living space and access to underground tunnels deeper into the city. Hidden in the park under the old keeper's house, it is hidden in plain sight, an act of genius and one of the safest safe houses in all of Tokyo. And don't worry," he added with a wink, "they let us out sometimes."

"Wo-ow Kiba, did you learn that from the back of a tour leaflet?"

Kiba lowered the finger and growled.

"Heh heh."

Hinata intervened before Kiba could launch himself over the table.

"S-so, how long are you s-staying? We h-have a lot of p-people who come by. S-sometimes for j-just a day, or l-longer...?"

Sasuke leaned back calmly into his own chair and said, "We actually plan to stay here for the time being, in permanent residence. That is, of course, that you don't mind?" he trailed off with a smirk, and Hinata shook her head with a soft smile.

"O-of course! It will b-be great to have you and N-Naruto-kun living here. T-there is plenty of s-spare rooms available."

"Then it's settled then," commented Sasuke, as if it had ever been in doubt at all.

"Awesome," repeated Kiba, "we can have some fun man- Neji is such a cold bastard and Ga-"

"Inuzuka."

A cold voice cut from the far side of the room.

"Be silent."

Kiba stuttered magnificently.

"O-oh, hey Gaara!"

Gaara was indeed standing on the threshold of the kitchen, his green eyes glaring coldly out at them all, the dark marks under his eyes framing the glare only made his stare more pointed.

"Gaara! You're here too?" called out Naruto from the table, raising a hand in welcome and sounding a lot more cheerful than Kiba had managed. He'd met Gaara a couple of times over the past few years, and when he wasn't all glaring- and angry- he was an all right enough sort of guy. Especially as he hadn't ever tried to kiss him again.

He saw the rest of the room throw Sasuke nervous looks, as if he were about to jump from the table and attack the red head. But Sasuke sat quite calmly, not at all bothered by the tanuki's presence.

For their parts, the other's in the room all seemed surprised and relieved, though Neji looked more contemplative.

"Sabaku," nodded Sasuke.

"Uchiha."

And that was it.

Naruto almost felt like laughing at the twitch in Kiba's eyebrow. Sasuke hardly felt threatened by Gaara. Yes, they had once, a long time ago, fought over him (Naruto flushed over the memory by habit) but Sasuke had fended him off at least, and it was quite clear who _Naruto_ had chosen. He didn't think Gaara really _liked_ liked him anyway.

And even if Sasuke still didn't like the red head much, Sasuke was too happy, proud, and god damn smug to get worked up by such a small thing. After all, Naruto was having _his _baby. Hah.

And Sasuke didn't think Naruto knew him like the back of his hand. Che. The blond wasn't too sure if he should be mad about this, but decided, upon reflection; it was simply funny as hell.

Still, he'd feel even better right now if...

"Oi, Neji, can I get some service here? I'm gonna die from dehydration! ...And did I smell food earlier?" Naruto looked hopeful, like a puppy and Neji could only sigh and he gave in almost immediately and went to the stove and started foisting glasses from the cupboard.

"Joining us Gaara?" he asked, as casual as he could make it.

"I'll stand," answered Gaara, which caused Neji to simply sigh. Inwardly, of course.

Naruto was back to humming again, as he tapped fingers on the table. Sasuke had his eyes closed next to him, looking almost ready to fall asleep. Resting his eyes, yes, that's right.

"Geez Naruto, I swear, are you constantly hungry or what? And before you say," interrupted Kiba, "you are waaay worse than I am!"

"I am not!" proclaimed Naruto in an affronted tone.

"Yeah you are," smirked Kiba lazily, "I mean, at least I'm not putting on weight."

Naruto visible twitched, and his hands immediately went to his shirt front. The material was baggy.

"Eh?"

"Kiba-kun..."

But Kiba just pointed a rude finger towards Naruto abdomen.

"Yeah, I saw it when we sat down, you've definitely put on some weight round the middle- you should be more careful, Naru-chan," teased Kiba, "youkai have high metabolisms, you must have seriously over ate."

Naruto had gone so red in the face, he appeared on the verge on turning into a tomato.

"Kiba-kun!" interjected Hinata softly, with worried eyes.

"You asshole!" screeched Naruto in a rush, the air rushing from him like a popped balloon, "I'm not fucking fat you stupid moron! I'm pregnant!"

...

"Hn. Dobe."

...

Naruto went even redder than before, if possible, and sat straight back down in his chair, not sure when he had stood up. Sasuke had opened his eyes a fraction to stare at him in unbridled amusement. Naruto suddenly found the table very interesting indeed as silence rang round the entire room.

Kiba looked like he'd been smacked with a wet fish-that talked. And danced.

"You-you...what?" he whimpered.

Naruto put on a false grin to meet his eyes, embarrassment all over his face.

"Oh, um, yeah. You see," he coughed to clear his throat," me and Sasuke are, you know, having a baby and all, so...yeah."

Naruto nodded at his eloquent statement.

Sasuke, the bastard, said nothing. Which was really par for the course for him. Must have used up all his words yesterday. ...Bastard.

But as everyone blinked in unison, more than a little shocked at the information, Sasuke took the time to add his word.

"That's right, which is part of the reason why we decided to come back to Tokyo, he'll be having the baby in just a few months, and it's much safer here."

"I, well," even Neji took a moment to collect himself, "congratulations of course. Of course. I suppose it was unexpected then?"

"Yeah," said Naruto sheepishly, suddenly a lot more cheery than a moment ago, "but I mean, we're really happy about it too. We know it's not the best time either," Naruto gave a meaningful look around the room, " but you can't really say yes or no to time, so."

He stopped with a grin, and his glittering eyes, always so expressive, told all in the room just how happy he really was.

Sasuke gave a soft chuckle and took his hand again, which Naruto gleefully clutched with force, knowing that Sasuke was bathing in _smug _right about now. Not sure whether that annoyed him or not, and feeling sort of proud himself he sat there to soak up the now proper heart felt congratulations.

"Woah, I'm not sure I can believe it, but," Kiba paused, "but I'm really happy for you. Really!" He stood to shake Naruto's entire arm, looking more jubilant by the second.

Hinata also offered her own affection in her quiet way and even Gaara gave a nod from where he watched them all in the kitchen doorway.

Naruto grinned at all of them unabashedly.

"That's so great guys, it's gonna be some great months ahead of us!"

All the smiles in the room suddenly appeared a little fixed.

Sasuke smirked a smirk of so much evil, you could practically hear the maniacal laughter in the distance, as he soaked up the realisation with eyes closed.

The next few months of living with a hormonal, bitchy pregnant youkai, and then after the wonder of birth itself, a tiny bawling, youkai infant, complete with over protective mother.

In a confined space.

Even more chained than the rest of them, Sasuke took small pleasures in life.

Naruto smiled innocently at them all, no idea of the, _good natured_ trepidation filling his friends' minds.

And so began the stay in Hibiya.

* * *

Even long after the sun had set the heat of the day lingered like a choking fog through the city streets. In hung heavy and thick, pouring out of the walls like a thick, invisible treacle. Combined with the buzz of the street lamps, the night was left hot, sticky and distinctly uncomfortable.

Despite this, Mitarashi Anko did not remove her tan coat, but merely dragged the hood further over her head as she passed under a shimmering beacon of yellow light.

She did not linger, and with swift purposed strides she was soon sweeping into the dark once more before slipping soundlessly down the mysterious depths of an alleyway.

Even with her care, her boots still scrunched against the loose gravel but she was alert, and she heard nothing as she approached her desitination. Still, she glanced around for a long moment as she paused next to an old iron door, flicking her eyes up down and around until she was satisfied she was utterly alone.

No longer hesitating, she reached out to knock on the door just once. The bang echoed in the enclosed passage but she didn't blink. She simply waited until the noise had settled back into a thick silence before knocking twice more, quickly.

This time the sound didn't completely fade, as the noise of a person rattled around the other side. A near-rusted tiny hatch was slide open with a groan and a pair of nervous dark eyes peered out.

Anko gave an impatient sigh and made a rushing motion with her hand.

A little squeak piped up from behind the door and the hatch was hastily shoved closed. The metallic crunching of locks and clinking keys followed right after and the heavy door was wrenched open just enough for the woman to slip through.

"Finally- what do you people do all day?"

The stringy, nervous looking young man who had opened the door for her swallowed heavily; he could think of a lot of things to reply to _that, _but he was tempered by the knowledge of what the woman had done to the last who decided to get snarky. Not wishing to wake in a hospital he bobbed his head in a submissive manner and hurried after her retreating back.

They passed cold grey walls-the concrete was crumbling in places and there was a distinct smell of damp- and soon reached another door. In contrast, it was made of a shiny, warm wood and gave little resistance under Anko's grasp as she turned the cool golden handle and made her way inside.

The room beyond was panelled in the same warm, reddish wood that gleamed of polish, and several filing cabinets lined the walls. A couple of old metal fans were perched on the large square table the dominated the room, their blades whirring around in a vain attempt to staunch the heat. The room trapped warmth as well as a furnace and all the fans did was cause a certain amount of restrained chaos as many of the various sheets of paper littering the room were blown from their stacks.

There were no windows.

The oppressive atmosphere of the room was added to by the copious amount of cigarette smoke that filtered through the air, making it so dingy Anko could barely make out the back wall. All she could see in the murk that was the other side of the table was the angry red glow of a cigarette.

"You're late."

Anko gave a half hearted snarl and slammed the door shut behind her; heedless to the underling she sent scurrying from out behind her, only just managing to keep his fingers intact.

A rumbling chuckle came from the other side of the room.

"Don't start on some shit like that now Asuma, I'm in a bad mood."

The glowing cigarette moved through the smoke.

"When aren't you in a bad mood?"

Anko sighed irritably.

"Just drop it, why don't you? Or even better, give me something to make it better!"

She went to sit down, dragged the chair with one hand and propping her feet on top of the table, her boots scuffing more papers. She hoped they were important.

Asuma sighed, equally tired as she was aggravated.

She stared across at him calmly.

"Now Anko, how could I possibly help you?"

Anko screwed up her nose, huffing to show her irritation turning to anger.

"Well maybe if you god damn idiots would come up with something

!" she suddenly yelled in frustration.

"It's all very well and good, me out there in the field; finally caught up with some slithery, foul little demon, and I go to my sword, and I hack and I hack! Until the fucker is bleeding everywhere! And then? The stupid shit can still escape! Those fuckers regenerate too fast dammit!"

She slammed a fist on the table, a stack of papers crashed to the floor.

"And despite knowing this, _all along_, you still haven't found a way to make them bleed, and keep bleeding! In that case it would be easy to finish them off, they wouldn't have any fight left, and they couldn't just crawl away either, to fight another day! How hard can it possibly be?"

She muttered darkly under her breath, scowling at the ceiling and chewing on a fingernail.

Asuma was unmoved, and simply blew out another jet of smoke. He let her stew for a few moments, observing her childish glower.

"Now now Anko, no need to get so upset," an old voice wheezed from another chair. Silver eyebrows and a wizened face loomed out of the darkness.

"And please, do remove your boots from our property."

"Tch," she spat, but removed her feet all the same, slamming them into the odd dark green carpet instead.

"Why thankyou dear."

She glowered out, letting her eyes trail over the many faces seated around the table; most many years older than her own. Concentrating, she could now distinguish most of the people round the table. The place was cramped full; it seemed all the heads were here- and that she really was the last to arrive.

Flushing just a little, she stared off to the side at the map that covered an entire wall, finding the many coloured pins far more interesting. She would much rather be out there.

"Now that Anko has decided to join us," said the same man from before, "I would like to begin straight to the heart of the matter. Time is short for us all to be in one place, and the recent _discoveries_ made by our scientific research team are most impressive."

"You should like this Anko," interjected Asuma with grim amusement.

She made a snarling expression in his direction from across the room, but did nothing more.

The man coughed a little into on hand to draw attention, but he needn't have bothered. Apart from Anko, every face in the room was on him.

"Yes, of course. This issue stems directly from your own experience Anko; we have lost our initial advantage against the youkai, that of our surprise tactics. Though the demon menace were not expecting us they have adapted quickly and easily to a war lifestyle."

Anko's chest heaved with suppressed emotion.

"And though our weapons are specially made to rend demonic flesh, our foe's regeneration capabilities are making us slowly...lose."

Anko wasn't the only one grinding teeth at this announcement.

"They're not even bothering," she hissed fervently, eyes alight with fire, "Some of these fucker's don't even bother to fear us- they'll just run- like cowards, and wait for their wounds to re-heal. It's infuriating!"

She gave a violent twisting motion with her hands in mid-air, as if she was looking to strangel something, but no one reprimanded her on her vulgarity. Many in the room shared her sentiment dearly. It _was _infuriating. That such a simple advantage was taking such a toll on their resources. Their initial plan had been to annihilate the main bulk of youkai power in fast, rapid strikes. Knocking them off balance and unguarded, they would fall swiftly and silently. Afterwards, they would simply pick off remaining surviving pockets one by one until the threat was entirely eradicated.

The destruction of the Council of Elders would have been a mortal blow.

But the damn creatures had escaped, mostly. And no matter how wounded a demon-spawn was, if you didn't kill it immediately, it would simply recover itself.

They were taught from an early age to definitively end a demon's life. They would be ineffectual demon hunter's if they weren't. Only bother to injure it until it could no longer put up adequate resistnace. Do not hesitate or delay. Sever the head from the body; cause severe trauma to the brain or cause such a grievous, blood spilling wound it would die before it could possibly heal itself. How to go about these methods was in further detail later in their education.

The point was, you had to take them out in one strike, and the youkai knew this. When their first, quick fire strategy had failed, they'd been drawn into a secret war of sabotage and attrition. All the youkai had to do was retreat at the smallest hint of loss, and they would escape, often with vital information. The demon stamina was showing, and as such- they, the tenmakashi!- were losing.

The solution? Either to completely destroy their supply lines; without resources their little regeneration trick would do them little good. Or, find a way to stop the little fucker's from self-healing.

Neither was the easy option.

And neither, so far, had been successful.

And they had most certainly tried.

"Yes, yes," interrupted the speaker, trying to quell the outbreak of dark mutterings.

"But this meeting is to spread the word of a breakthrough on this stagnant front."

The room was once more silent, and even Anko turned her head back to listen better.

"You see, the research department has developed something new- this time, they were focussing not on our weapons, but on a new weapon itself!"

By this time it was clear the old man liked to listen to his own voice. Anko kicked the underside of the table with her boot.

"Well? Out with it! It's not another disappointment on metal alloys is it?"

The silver eyebrows shuffled as the man shook his head.

"No, no, this is different, this is-"

"The future."

A silent hush fell on the room in a single swoop. Standing on the threshold was another man, his hunched frame balanced on a gnarled walking stick. He shuffled further into the room, coming to a halt at the head of the table, peering down at them all with a single dull eye.

Still no one spoke.

The figure pulled out a plain looking manila file, his face grave but full of a determination that seemed etched into the very lines and wrinkles of his face.

"D-Danzou-sama," whispered Anko, her suddenly tiny voice carrying through the room like the smallest of breezes. Her eyes glistened as she blinked several times.

Danzou's gaze swept through the room once more, gazing hard into the collected faces, before he gave the smallest inclinations of his head.

"Danzou-sama?" asked another, inquiring.

Danzou did not speak for several moments, but instead looked at the file held in one crooked hand with, it seemed, all the wisdom in the world.

But then he let it simply fall, landing several inches below onto the table surface with a soft smack that echoed.

"Like I said," he said simply, "the future."

* * *

**A/n: You may see my writing style alter a little half-way through. As this took months to write and i've been foccussing hard on improving my style, i hope its for the better :) I hope you guys enjoyed it- several future plot points are buried in here so have fun! And i wont bother to say i'll have the next one up soon, i really have no idea. Keep in mind i have other projects on the go (i've found i prefer to pre-write stories; you guys'll enjoy it too as i really can quarantee regular updates then!) and things are busy for poor students #sniff. Oh and many thanks to my poor beta too, i can be...difficult sometimes. Ja!**


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